EF1 tornado in Mahnomen County, Minnesota

This was the second of twin tornadoes in southwest Mahnomen County. This tornado touched down after the first one and tracked nearly due east. The tornado snapped a large spruce tree and several poplar trees at one farmstead. Peak winds were estimated at 95 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.