Tornado in Martin County, Minnesota
Tornado May 17, 2026 · Martin County, Minnesota
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 25 yards (0.01 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What the National Weather Service wrote
This short, rope tornado was confirmed by law enforcement and a trained spotter. The tornado briefly touched down between Fairmont and Northrup, north of mile marker 99 along I-90. It crossed open fields and appeared to not hit any damage indicators.
The wider storm
A line of storms developed along a cold front Sunday afternoon, stretching from South Dakota all the way down through central Kansas. As the storms progressed eastward through the evening, they moved into a favorable environment for tornado and severe wind development. Several tornadoes were observed across northeast Iowa, southeast South Dakota, and extreme southern Minnesota. There were two tornadoes in Freeborn County and one tornado in Martin County.
In addition to the tornadoes, there were reports of wind damage across southern MN. Minor structural damage and scattered tree damage suggest wind speeds around 60 to 75 mph were likely tied to the thunderstorms.
Began near Northrop (43.7074, -94.4920).
Other tornadoes from the same storm system
2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1339438. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
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