EF0 tornado in Chippewa County, Minnesota

Tornado May 30, 2022 · Chippewa County, Minnesota

EF0

Rating

1.8 mi

Whole path

100 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Chippewa County → Swift County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A brief tornado developed about 3 miles north northwest of Milan. It uprooted several trees and then moved into Swift County where it significantly damaged farm outbuildings. Maximum winds for the Chippewa County portion were estimated at 70 mph.

The wider storm

A strong synoptic cyclone swinging into the Northern Plains set the stage for a late Spring severe weather outbreak on May 30th. Discrete and semi-discrete supercells developed during the afternoon ahead of an arcing cold front and a nearby surface low. These storms quickly traveled northeast while gradually growing upscale into bowing line segments as storms merged together and new cells formed. During this time, hail and tornadoes occurred; the strongest being an EF2 through Forada, MN. The bowing line segments became dominant and a wind event unfolded.

Strong and broad synoptic lift, little capping, and questionable mid-level shear likely allowed for upscale growth. This caused storm interactions and competing updrafts which may have limited mesocyclone longevity and strength. While property was damaged, no lives were lost on the last day of a holiday weekend when many people were outdoors camping or doing other recreational activities.

Began near Milan (45.1454, -95.9201).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

8 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Pope County EF2 Todd County EF1 McLeod County EF1 Swift County EF1 Swift County EF1 Pope County EF1 Pope County EF1 Todd County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1019733. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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