Tornado in Rock County, Minnesota

Tornado May 27, 2026 · Rock County, Minnesota

–

Not rated

3.5 mi

Whole path

40 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Rock County → Minnehaha County, South Dakota; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 40 yards (0.02 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

Not rated. NOAA lists no rating for this tornado. Ratings come from surveying damage, and the National Weather Service now records “EFU” (unknown) when a tornado hit nothing a survey team could rate.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A landspout formed around 2 miles northwest of Hills, southwest of the intersection of 40th Avenue and 51st Street. The highly visible tornado was viewed from numerous angles as it traversed slowly across open fields to the west-southwest. The tornado crossed the state line out of Rock County one-half mile south of 41st Street on 488th Avenue. The landspout continued west-southwest through Minnehaha County for less than one mile before it dissipated at 1626CST. There were no damage indicators present to derive a rating in either Rock County or Minnehaha County, giving the tornado a rating of EFU in both counties. The average path width was estimated at 40 yards based on video and photo evidence.

The wider storm

Very warm temperatures led to a well-mixed lower atmosphere. Weak winds and a weakly convergence boundary in the presence of marginal moisture led to the development of high-based convection, which featured a widely viewed landspout that drifted west-southwest from Minnesota into South Dakota.

Began near Bruce (43.5509, -96.4041).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1344109. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.