EF1 tornado in Cass County, Minnesota

A tornado caused damage in southwest Cass County, mainly across Poplar Township. The tornado began near the Poplar Cemetery and tracked north-northeast. Around a dozen power poles were snapped near the base along 60th St SW to the west of Highway 64 along with numerous tree damage, including several very healthy pine trees with trunks 12-18 inches in diameter snapped at the base. A small piece of farm equipment was also tossed roughly 100 yards. Significant tree damage was observed along Highway 64 around the intersection of 56 St SW, with damage continuing to the northeast into a wetland/bog-type landscape that was inaccessible. Peak winds were estimated to be 105 mph.

A strong area of low pressure across the Northern Plains lifted a warm front across the Northland on Memorial Day morning. Showers and storms moved through during the morning hours with the atmosphere recovering during the afternoon hours. A few of the storms were severe during the morning and produced small hail and tree damage. An arc of thunderstorms developed across southwestern Minnesota and adjacent areas of Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa by the mid-afternoon hours and moved to the northeast and across the Northland for the late afternoon and evening hours. These storms were much stronger and contained very strong winds that produced widespread damage across the region. Additionally, there were a few embedded tornadoes with the storms with the strongest tornadoes producing EF-1 damage in the Deer River and Hinckley areas.