EF1 Tornado — Barnes, North Dakota

2025-06-20 · near Oriska, Barnes, North Dakota

Event narrative

Ground survey and satellite imagery confirm a tornado tracked intermittently for approximately 5 miles. 2 farmsteads sustained damage to buildings both suggesting winds around 100mph in the first couple miles of the tornado there after satellite imagery shows scouring in fields for another 3 miles or so where at one point it reached 800 yards wide.

Wider weather episode

During the evening of Friday, June 20th into the early morning hours of June 21st, much of the region was affected by severe weather. Supercell thunderstorms developed across southeast North Dakota ahead of an approaching convective complex, producing multiple strong, destructive, and fatal tornadoes. This was followed by a powerful line of severe thunderstorms categorized as a derecho, which tracked across much of the region resulting in widespread straight line wind damage. After the derecho passed through the region, there was a period of prolonged destructive winds that affected portions of central and east central North Dakota, as well as adjacent portions of Minnesota. This was a unique event due to the combination of the violent tornadoes ahead of the derecho, and the long duration of significant winds that followed the derecho. Based on estimates provided by North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, the state lost anywhere from 50 to 80 million bushels of grain storage capacity from these storms.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (46.9787, -97.8546)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1282000. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.