EF1 tornado in Swift County, Minnesota

A tornado touched down in a corn field northwest of Murdock and moved northeast. The first structure that was hit was a church, which lost part of its roof. Along the way, the tornado destroyed corn fields, knocked down or broke many trees, and blew apart six empty grain bins that were ready for harvest. Three machine or equipment storage sheds were also destroyed and the roof of a restaurant was partially torn off. The tornado then moved into Kandiyohi County (see separate entry).

A strong and potent upper level disturbance, combined with a cold front sweeping across the eastern Dakotas, fired a line of severe thunderstorms that moved eastward into western Minnesota toward midnight. This line of storms continued to progress east-northeast across southern and central Minnesota, which produced fast-moving tornadoes, severe measured wind gusts, and hail as large as tennis balls. This line slowly weakened as it moved into far eastern Minnesota, with general, non-severe thunderstorms as the line progressed into west central Wisconsin after 3 am.