EF0 tornado in Pembina County, North Dakota

This tornado originated 3 miles west of Union (in Cavalier County) at 555 pm CST. It crossed into Pembina County about 1 mile northeast of Milton. The tornado produced no damage, as it remained in rural farm fields. The total path length was 5 miles, but only about 1 mile occurred in Pembina County. The funnel and intermittent contact was viewed by spotters in Pembina and Walsh Counties at distances of 5 to 15 miles away. Peak winds were estimated at 70 mph.

A cold front moved across North Dakota on the 26th, with a hot and humid airmass in place ahead of the front. At 6 pm CST, a surface low was located over southern Manitoba (Canada), just north of Pembina, ND. The cold front stretched to the southwest, back toward Devils Lake (ND) and Bismarck (ND). Ahead of the cold front, temperatures ranged in the low to mid 80s with dew points around 70F. Behind the front, temperatures did not cool significantly, but dew points dropped to the mid 40s. Thunderstorms began to form along and ahead of the cold front by early evening (from northeast ND into south central ND), eventually crossing into northwest Minnesota several hours later. Eight distinct tornadoes occurred over northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota during this event.