EF2 Tornado — Polk, Minnesota

2018-06-29 · near Winger, Polk, Minnesota

Event narrative

This tornado was likely wrapped in downburst winds and heavy rain for most of its path. It tracked nearly due east at about 60 mph, for at least 15 miles. It tore down trees in shelterbelts and tore roofing off of a couple of homes and farm buildings. It tore down 11 miles, or more than 50 high voltage towers, and snapped wooden power poles at cross roads along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 120 mph.

Wider weather episode

The early morning hours of Friday, June 29th, remained warm and muggy. Just after midnight, temperatures were still in the 70s with dew points around 70. A line of thunderstorms moved into the Devils Lake area around 2 am CDT. This line of storms had several bowing segments, which are indicative of strong winds. The most obvious bowing segment between highway 2 and Interstate 94, where the most amount of damage occurred. The main bowing segment exited into north central Minnesota around 6 am CDT. Well behind the bowing thunderstorm complex, a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) formed, and produced another round of widespread damaging winds.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.5500, -96.0200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 759125. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.