Thunderstorm Wind in Douglas County, Minnesota

A tree fell on a camper, and unfortunately one of the two individuals inside the camper was killed. The other individual was injured and hospitalized.

A damaging wind event unfolded across west-central Minnesota during the evening of June 20 and into the overnight hours of June 21. Temperatures in the mid to upper 90s along with dew points in the mid to upper 60s created ample instability for thunderstorms to develop ahead of a cold front, once the cap weakened during the evening. Despite fairly muggy dewpoints, the hot surface temperatures created inverted-V soundings that were primed for damaging wind potential. Thunderstorms came in three waves during the evening, as marginal shear values prohibited any long-lived or well-organized thunderstorms across the area. Numerous wind gusts of 60-70 kts were measured across west-central Minnesota, along with widespread tree damage. One fatality occurred when a tree fell on a camper in Douglas County.