PHOTOS: Mendota Heights Tornado Confirmed by National Weather Service

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The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in northern Mendota Heights Saturday.

The twister had a half mile long path length near Pickerel Lake and knocked down trees and power lines and caused damage to homes and cars. The tornado was the third produced by a single storm cell that swept across northern Dakota County. The two other tornadoes—one in Burnsville and one in Eagan—were confirmed earlier this week by the weather service.

Leighton Siegel, a Woodridge Drive resident who was adamant that he had heard a tornado that sounded like "an airplane flying through our backyard," felt vindicated by the NWS's announcement.

"Thinking back I realize that a number of trees had fallen in different directions which would not have happened with a straight-line wind."

The tornado touched down near Lilydale, between Wachlter and Butler Ave, paralleling Highway 13, according to the NWS. (See attached map.)

Shawn Finnegan, a Diego Lane resident, said his mother-in-law's car was crushed by a fallen tree. (See his photos above.)

"I got home after the storm to see the tree as you see it in the picture," he said. "I had to crawl through the branches to get into my front door."

Finnegan said his power was out until 2 p.m. Monday.

"We had heat because I had jerry-rigged the furnace electrical so I could run it off of a generator," he said. "My poor 80-year-old neighbors had to resort to wearing jackets, mittens and stocking caps in their 50-degree house."