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F1 tornado in Stearns County, Minnesota

Tornado May 15, 1998 · Stearns County, Minnesota

Rating

9.0 mi

Path length

33 yd

Path width

Death

Injuries

$3.0M

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 33 yards (0.02 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Tornado struck outdoor flea market in Albany, blowing numerous recreational vehicles over. One man was killed when a recreational vehicle was blown on top of him. 30 others were injured. A farmstead was severely damaged northeast of St. Francis just before liftoff of the tornado.

Began near Albany (45.6300, -94.5700).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F1 Anoka County F1 Faribault County F1 McLeod County F1 Ramsey County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5649342. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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