High winds, possibly from a tornado, derail 43 train cars in North Dakota

STEELE, ND — High winds knocked nearly four dozen train cars off the tracks in North Dakota, part of a storm system that led to reports of five tornadoes in the Dakotas.

BNSF Railway spokesman Kendall Sloan said a train was stopped Wednesday night due to a tornado warning near the town of Steele, North Dakota, when high winds from a suspected tornado derailed 43 empty coal cars.

No one was injured and there were no hazardous materials in the cars, Sloan said in an email. BNSF cleanup crews were on the scene Thursday.

The National Weather Service reported that three potential tornadoes were reported Wednesday night in north-central South Dakota, and two in North Dakota. Storm survey crews were trying to determine Thursday whether the damage was from tornadoes or straight-line winds. No injuries were reported.

While the bad weather generally moved away from the Dakotas, severe thunderstorms were possible in Minnesota and parts of Iowa and Wisconsin on Thursday, the weather service said.