EF1 tornado in Crow Wing County, Minnesota

First of two tornadoes from a severe thunderstorm that crossed through Cass and Crow Wing Counties. The tornado began just north of Casino, Minnesota, and crossed into Crow Wing County about 5.25 miles southwest of Lake Hubert while over Gull Lake. The tornado continued into Crow Wing County for about three-quarters of a mile moving back on shore then dissipating after crossing Sea Gull Road NW at 1643 CDT. Damage along the path was mainly limited to hardwood and softwood trees that were snapped about 10 to 20 feet up (DI 27/28, DOD 4).

An area of low pressure moved from eastern South Dakota to Lake Superior on the 16th. As the low tracked to the northeast, it lifted a warm front into central Minnesota. To the south of the warm front and to the east of a cold front, a very warm and moist unstable airmass was in place. Morning thunderstorms across the region left cloud cover in place over much of the Northland, but areas of clearing were able to develop in the vicinity of the low across the central part of the state. This heating led to rapid destabilization and the development of low-topped supercells in central Minnesota. Low level winds were strong and somewhat veered leading to a good environment for tornadoes early in a storm's lifecycle. As a broken line of storms moved in to the Brainerd Lakes area, one storm produced a large EF-1 tornado that began near Casino and moved over Gull Lake before dissipating shortly after moving back onto land near Minnesota Highway 371 just north of Brainerd. This tornado was well documented by chasers in the area. The storm cycled and produced another EF-1 tornado that touched down to the west of Merrifield and moved to the east through the northern part of town and into an inaccessible area along the Mississippi River before ended in Cuyuna State Park along the north shore of Huntington Mine Lake. Extensive tree damage was observed with both tornadoes with many being snapped some ten to 20 feet above the ground. Other areas of tree damage were reported as the line of storms progressed to the east, but no additional tornadoes were found. Some minor flash flooding was reported across the Iron Range as well with this activity.