Update: NWS Says 9 Tornadoes Hit Minnesota During Memorial Day Storms
Originally published June 1. Updated with more information from NWS Twin Cities.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The National Weather Service says nine tornadoes hit Minnesota during a destructive wave of Memorial Day storms.
The most severe twister hit Forada, which is a few miles south of Alexandria. The NWS said it was an EF-2 tornado with max winds of 120 mph. The tornado, which was about a half-mile wide, traveled nearly 20 miles, beginning just south of Forada and traveling northeast to the Carlos area. It lasted a little over 20 minutes, from 4:25 p.m. to 4:48 p.m.
Douglas County officials said 75-100 buildings were damaged. Mayor David Reller compared the damage to a combat zone. However, no serious injuries have been reported.
In the central Minnesota town of Eagle Bend, an EF-1 tornado hit with max winds of 95 mph. It had a path width of 300 yards, and traveled 15.4 miles from Eagle Bend to southwest of Staples. It spun up at 5 p.m. and ended 12 minutes later.
"The tornado tore through the eastern side of Eagle Bend. It knocked down or snapped many trees, partially removed roofs from several houses, peeled tin off the roof of multiple sheds and buildings, and took the top off three massive and filled grain bins in Eagle Bend," NWS Twin Cities said.
The town's Main Street took the brunt of the twister. One resident said it "sounded like a freight train." There were power outages until at least Tuesday evening as a result.
Plato, a farming town southwest of the metro, was hit by an EF-1 tornado with max winds of 90 mph. This one was slightly bigger than the Eagle Bend tornado, measuring at 400 yards wide. It traveled over 18 miles from southwest Plato to southwest Montrose. The event lasted from 6:12 p.m. to 6:28 p.m.
"It knocked down or snapped many trees, completely collapsed several farm outbuildings, rolled a camper, peeled tin off the roof of multiple sheds and outbuildings, and knocked down multiple power poles along its path," NWS said.
The town ballpark was also damaged.
NWS Twin Cities determined that an EF-1 tornado traveled around 50 miles, from four miles west of Milan to four miles northwest of Glenwood, which is south of Forada. Featuring peak wind speeds of 100 mph, the event lasted from 3:36 p.m. to 4:23 p.m. Forada's tornado began just a couple minutes.
"There was a small gap between this tornado and the Forada tornado," NWS said. "Additional investigation is needed to see if it was single track."
The tornado knocked down trees, and damaged farm outbuildings and electrical transmission lines. Agriculture irrigation systems were also overturned.
On Thursday, weather officials said five other small tornado touched down Monday. Two of them happened in western Minnesota and the other three happened in northern Minnesota.
The weakest tornado of the day, an EF-0, touched town briefly in Adrian in southwestern Minnesota around 2:30 a.m. The NWS Sioux Falls office said it traveled about a mile with peak wind speeds of 75 mph.
Another EF-1 tornado spun up in Artichoke in west-central Minnesota. The NWS Aberdeen office says the tornado touched down at 3:36 p.m. and lasted about two minutes, cutting a two-and-a-half mile path. Peak wind speeds were estimated to be around 90 mph.
As for the three tornados in northern Minnesota, the NWS Duluth office said the first one touched down around 5:37 p.m. near Poplar Township in north-central Minnesota. The twister lasted for roughly eight minutes, traveling over four miles with max wind speeds of 105 mph.
Then, Northland tornado occurred in Deer River, northwest of Grand Rapids. The twister touched down around 6:46 p.m. and lasted four minutes, with max winds howling at 107 mph. The tornado cut a two-and-half mile path.
Lastly, an EF-1 tornado was confirmed in Hinckley, starting up at 7:50 p.m. and ending four minutes later. The path was about 3 miles long with speeds reaching 95 mph.
NWS says the tornado information is preliminary and subject to change pending a final review. Check out the NWS summary on the storms right here.
More on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale:
EF-0: Weak tornado with wind speeds from 65 to 85 mph
EF-1: Weak tornado with wind speeds from 86 to 110 mph
EF-2: Strong tornado with wind speeds from 111 to 135 mph
EF-3: Strong tornado with wind speeds from 136 to 165 mph
EF-4: Violent tornado with wind speeds from 166 to 200 mph
EF-5: Violent tornado with wind speeds 200 mph and higher
