EF0 tornado in Norman County, Minnesota

This was the first of twin tornadoes which were viewed and photographed from residents near Flom and Waubun. This tornado only tracked for a short distance in Norman County, before it continued into Mahnomen County. The tornado broke large tree branches in several shelterbelts along its path and appears to have caused a peak wind of 73 mph at both the Mahnomen airport and nearby MNDOT RWIS mesonet sensors as it dissipated. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.

A vertically stacked low pressure system pushed into eastern North Dakota during the afternoon of May 24th. The 4 pm surface chart showed the low near Bismarck, with a boundary extending to the east along the Interstate 94 corridor. Temperatures were on the cool side, with upper 40s near the Lake of the Woods to upper 60s along the North and South Dakota border in southeast North Dakota. Two areas of thunderstorms initially formed in the warm sector in North Dakota, one area over Stutsman County and the second mainly over Ransom and Sargent counties. Both areas moved to the northeast during the early evening and produced tornadoes, funnel clouds, and hail.