Strong winds knocked nearly four dozen train cars off a track in North Dakota, part of a storm system that spurred reports of five tornadoes across the Dakotas.

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

No one was hurt, and no hazardous materials were in the cars, Sloan said in an email. BNSF cleanup crews were at the site on Thursday.

The National Weather Service said three potential tornadoes were reported in north-central South Dakota on Wednesday night, and two were reported in North Dakota. Storm survey teams on Thursday were trying to verify if damage was from tornadoes or straight-line winds. No injuries were reported.

While bad weather was generally moving out of the Dakotas, severe thunderstorms were possible Thursday in Minnesota and parts of Iowa and Wisconsin, the weather service said.

(AP)