High Wind — Southern Aitkin, Minnesota

2022-05-11 · Southern Aitkin, Minnesota

Event narrative

Photos were received showing a building at the Aitkin County fairgrounds that had been blown over along with sheet metal that had been blown into the crown of a tree.

Wider weather episode

An area of thunderstorms moved across portions of east-central Minnesota during the afternoon hours of the 11th. One of the storms did produce minor tree damage in Pine County, but otherwise the storms were not severe. A wake low developed on the backside of the storms and let to strong winds that moved across the Aitkin area. These winds produced extensive damage at the Aitkin County fairgrounds along with knocking down numerous trees and removing roofs from sheds. Additionally, storms persisted through the night leading to isolated reports of flash flooding along the North Shore the following morning.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1029729. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.