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EF1 tornado in Hennepin County, Minnesota

Tornado May 22, 2011 · Hennepin County, Minnesota

EF1
Rating
13.6 mi
Whole path
880 yd
Path width
1
Death
48
Injuries
$166.6M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Hennepin County → Anoka County → Ramsey County → Anoka County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A strong EF-1 tornado touched down approximately 3/4 of a mile south-southwest of the intersection of Interstate 394 and Highway 100 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. It traveled north-northeast through Golden Valley, and across North Minneapolis, before moving into Anoka County.

Damage was widespread along the path and caused damage to businesses near the intersection of Interstate 394, and Highway 100. As it crossed Highway 100, it began to damage numerous residences along Cedar Lake Road before moving into Theodore Wirth Park. The tornado moved across Wirth Park, and into the City of North Minneapolis, between Glenwood Avenue and 16th Avenue.

Most of the damage at this point was EF-0 and was confined to downed trees and roof damage. It strengthened to EF-1 as it moved into North Minneapolis. The tornado tracked across Penn Avenue and Broadway, then to Lowry Avenue and Logan Avenue, then to 42nd Avenue to Lyndale Avenue before crossing the Mississippi River. Damage along this path was extensive to garages, with sheds and roofs removed.

A male was killed as a tree fell on his car while he was driving in North Minneapolis. City officials stated that more than 600 buildings would require major repairs, and 35 homes were so badly damaged they could not be reoccupied.

The wider storm

During the early afternoon of Sunday May 22nd, a line of thunderstorms developed across south central Minnesota, and quickly moved north and northeast across east-central Minnesota, and into west-central Wisconsin. One spawned a tornado in North Minneapolis, and crossed into southern Anoka County. Another tornado occurred near Ham Lake, and another near Forest Lake that afternoon.

Began near St Louis Park (44.9597, -93.3472).

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 294080. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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