One year later: Enderlin tornado still impacts the community
ENDERLIN, N.D. (KVRR) — On June 20th, 2025, a little after 11 at night, the city of Enderlin was hit by one of the most violent weather systems the region has experienced, an EF 5 tornado. Max Mueller, KVRR’s Meteorologist, was out on the site of the tornado chasing the storm.
“I looked over my shoulder, I saw a bolt of lightning just perfectly illuminate. All of a sudden, there’s a funnel in the storm. And by the time I get my car turned around to be able to hit record again on my camera and get video of this funnel, it is already a tornado,” said Mueller.
Mueller had expected storms to come in after checking the system earlier in the day. But he said this was not a storm he was expecting to see.
“I could only see it with the naked eye when lightning was illuminating it. And I see it in an open field. I could see how much dirt it’s picking up around it, and it was just one of those moments where I just could not fathom that I was seeing what I was seeing at that moment,” said Mueller.
The EF5 tornado tore through homes, trees, and power lines. Causing chaos for many in its path.
“Once we arrived on scene, we noticed the devastation that came through was clearly likely a tornado at that point. Their roof was completely gone. There was trees debarked and torn in half,” said Corp. Ryan Hutton, Cass County Sheriff Deputy.
The tornado not only affected Enderlin but to other towns such as Hunter, Alice, Page, and Tower City.
“I was somewhere around the Casselton area and just started making my way here, and of course, we had a few deputies that got on scene prior to my arrival. But I was here shortly after the devastation had occurred, and I arrived. And it just took me a few minutes to process what I was observing,” said Sheriff Jesse Jahner, Cass County.
Cass County Sheriff Deputies, local rescue teams, and storm chasers were all together on scene in Enderlin within minutes of the tornado passing through.
“We know going into this job that this job is very dangerous and that we may have to put our lives on the line at different times. And so at that point it’s really about us trying to get to our citizens and get them the help that they need, and that was the mode that we switched into,” said Jahner.
Days after, volunteers came out to help the city rebuild and clear up the damage.
Today, the city of Enderlin still stands tall, with remnants of the storm still bearing on the outskirts of town.
Three lives were lost that night: Michael and Katherine Dehn, both 73, died at their home. And the tornado also killed 89-year-old Marcario Lucio.
