BROOKINGS – A fast-moving thunderstorm swept across East River Wednesday, downing trees and leaving an inch or more rain in its wake.

“It all started in Huron, moved this way,” said Richard Haugen, deputy emergency manager for Brookings County. “As it got toward Brookings, it dissipated.”

Haugen said the National Weather Service reported that at 12:40 p.m., a wind gust of 74 mph was recorded at the weather station north of Brookings.

The wind was driving heavy rain before it, severely taxing the storm sewer system in spots where the rain came up over the curb and onto the sidewalk.

There were reports in the area of an inch to an inch and a quarter of rain with some spots reporting an inch and a half, Haugen said.

“When it came through Volga, there was a wind gust of 44 mph. Then they issued a severe thunderstorm warning for eastern Brookings County at 1:15 p.m.,” Haugen said, adding the Elkton/Lake Benton area had 61 mph wind gusts.

Neither Volga nor Elkton reported damage. In Brookings, police dispatch received reports of “trees and/or power lines down,” Haugen said.

“We had trees down all over town. A lot of branches down,” Brookings Police Chief Jeff Miller said.

The BPD had reports of three cars that were damaged by fallen trees, including one in the 500 block of Eighth Avenue, Miller said.

“We had power lines down by the city landfill and another power line down in the 600 block of Sixth Avenue,” he said. “There was temporary flooding, which always occurs at the viaduct as well some city streets.”

Haugen had heard no reports of hail “and the Weather Service did not say anything about hail, either.”

There were no reports of power outages, said Russ Halgerson, Electric Department manager for Brookings Municipal Utilities.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.