EF1 tornado in Pembina County, North Dakota

After the first tornado tracked from near Union (Cavalier County) to near Garder (Pembina County), a second tornado was produced by the same parent supercell thunderstorm. This tornado touched down about 5 miles west-southwest of Crystal (Pembina County) and continued to about 1.5 miles west of Hoople (Walsh County). The total tornado track was about 5 miles, and about 3 miles of the track occurred in Pembina County. The tornado made numerous strikes in shelterbelts along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 90 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.