Severe weather pounded northwestern Minnesota and the Bemidji area with hail and rain early this morning, leaving behind various reports of damage, the National Weather Service said.

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The storms began around midnight, rattling Red Lake Falls with hail as large as 1-inch in diameter.

Trained weather spotters, media and members of the public reported to the weather service that the hail also pounded the communities of Mentor, Erskine, McIntosh, Fosston and Pinewood as the line of storms moved eastward.

Several of the reports said the hail was generally about the size of a dime or nickel, but with some pellets reaching the size of a quarter or larger.

By 2 a.m., the storms rolled into Bemidji with a fierce combination of hail, wind and rain.

The weather service received reports of ping-pong ball-sized hail and winds of up to 70 mph in the southeast part of town.

Beltrami County law enforcement reported several large trees had blown down on the south side of Lake Bemidji and siding was ripped off the Pamida store near there.

Downed trees and snapped power lines were also reported around northern Cass Lake and in the Nymor area, southeast of Bemidji, the weather service said.

Meanwhile, heavy rains that dumped on the area also sparked reports of flash flooding in several Bemidji-area roads.

Law enforcement said at least one car was stranded after some streets south of downtown were engulfed in 1 to 2 feet of water because of the deluge of rainfall in such a short amount of time.