Tornado in Nobles County, Minnesota

A trained spotter observed a very brief tornado in an open field southwest of Worthington. The tornado was estimated to touch down just east of Oliver Avenue around one-half mile north of 280th Street. The tornado tracked northeast in open fields for less than one minute before lifting near South Crailsheim Road. There were no damage indicators present to derive a rating. The average path width was estimated at 20 yards.

An approaching mid-level disturbance broke a weak cap and allowed storms to erupt during the afternoon along a slow moving frontal boundary. These storms rapidly organized into short bowing segments and then became highly linear across northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota during the evening. Initial supercell storms produced large hail with as much as 2000-3000 J/kg MLCAPE, but DCAPE of around 750-1000 J/kg allowed for the development of organized cold pools and an increasing wind threat. Several brief and highly visible tornadic spin-ups developed along the line of storms by late afternoon and evening across far eastern South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota.