EF2 tornado in Polk County, Minnesota

This tornado touched down at 9 pm CST about 7 miles east-northeast of Reynolds, North Dakota (in Grand Forks County). It crossed the Red River into western Polk County at about 904 pm CST. The total tornado path length was about 5 miles, and about 3 miles of the total occurred in Tynsid Township in Polk County. The tornado destroyed a steel pole shed and a wooden quonset at one farmstead with significant tree damage at other locations nearby. Peak winds were estimated at 120 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.