EF2 tornado in Pine County, Minnesota

The severe storm that produced the tornado tracked northeast along the Saint Croix River Valley on the Minnesota-Wisconsin state border. Although the tornado crossed through mostly recreational land, residents between Rush City and Rock Creek in MN, as well as Grantsburg to Yellow Lake in WI were impacted. The maximum path width was a quarter mile, or 400 yards, with an average path width of 400 to 600 ft. The tornado exited Pine County at around 1955 CST, continuing on in Burnett County, WI, where it lifted at 2001 CST, about 3.5 miles northwest of Grantsburg, WI. The total path length was about 6.5 miles.

The worst of the damage occurred in far southeast Pine County and was evidence of a strong EF2 tornado with estimated winds of 110-135 mph. This rating was based on the total destruction of a strapped down mobile home and the extensive uprooting/snapping of trees where the tornado crossed Minnesota State Highway 70. Two people in a mobile home were injured. Multiple homes sustained significant damage.

A significant, widespread severe weather outbreak occurred across a large portion of central and east central Minnesota. A powerful mid summer storm system over the western Dakotas, combined with warm moist air surging northward from the Gulf of Mexico, provided the ingredients for tornadoes, destructive winds, and large hail across parts of the Northland.

In addition, several storms in the Cass Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish area of north central Minnesota produced a large amount of one to two inch diameter hail, which is about quarter to slightly larger than golf ball size.