PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
930 AM CDT THU OCT 25 2001
...MINNESOTA SETS NEW TORNADO RECORD...

MINNESOTA SET A NEW ANNUAL TORNADO RECORD WITH 72* TORNADOES 
OFFICIALLY OBSERVED THIS YEAR. THIS SHATTERS THE OLD ANNUAL RECORD 
OF 57 TORNADOES SET JUST 3 YEARS AGO IN 1998. NINETEEN NINETY EIGHT 
WAS THE YEAR 13 TORNADOES BLASTED THEIR WAY ACROSS SOUTHERN 
MINNESOTA...SEVERELY DAMAGING THE TOWNS OF COMFREY AND ST. PETER. 
THE MAJORITY OF THIS YEARS TORNADOES OCCURRED ON FIVE DAYS IN MAY 
AND JUNE. ON MAY 1ST...6 TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN IN FAR SOUTHERN 
MINNESOTA. TWO OF THE TORNADOES WERE RATED STRONG. THE FIRST STRONG 
TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN GLENVILLE IN SOUTH CENTRAL FREEBORN COUNTY 
AND REMAINED ON THE GROUND FOR 7 MILES. SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS 
REPORTED IN GLENVILLE WHERE 25 HOMES SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE. THE 
SECOND STRONG TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
OAKLAND IN EASTERN FREEBORN COUNTY...ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER THE 
GLENVILLE TORNADO DISSIPATED. THIS TORNADO REMAINED ON THE GROUND 
FOR 12 MILES...SKIRTING THE TOWNS OF OAKLAND...LANSING...AND AUSTIN. 
THE SMALL TOWN OF ANDYVILLE IN WESTERN MOWER COUNTY WAS NOT AS LUCKY 
AS SEVERAL HOMES TOOK A DIRECT HIT FROM THE TORNADO. SEVERAL HOG 
FARMS WERE ALSO DESTROYED. BOTH OF THESE TORNADOES WERE RATED F2 ON 
THE FUJITA OR TORNADO RANKING SCALE...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND 
SPEEDS EXCEEDING 110 MPH. 

JUST OVER A WEEK LATER ON MAY 9TH...NINE TORNADOES CUT ACROSS 
PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA DURING THE EARLY EVENING. THE 
TORNADOES REACHED THEIR APEX AT 8 PM CDT WHEN A STRONG F2 RATED 
TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY IN DOWNTOWN NORTHFIELD IN NORTHERN RICE 
COUNTY...FLIPPING OVER A SEMI TRAILER TRUCK...AND LIFTING A ROOF OFF 
ONE BUSINESS. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN ON THE EAST SIDE OF 
NORTHFIELD...AND REMAINED ON THE GROUND FOR 11 MILES AS IT CROSSED 
INTO DAKOTA AND GOODHUE COUNTIES. EIGHT HOMES RECEIVED MAJOR 
DAMAGE...AND A TURKEY PROCESSING PLANT WAS DESTROYED. THE TORNADO 
LIFTED OFF THE GROUND 4 MILES WEST OF CANNON FALLS.

AFTER A BRIEF RESPITE OF ANOTHER WEEK...SEVEN WEAK TORNADOES BRIEFLY 
TOUCHED DOWN ON MAY 15TH IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...AROUND LOWER RED 
LAKE. THE FIRST FIVE TORNADOES DEVELOPED FROM A SINGLE PERSISTENT 
STRONG STORM THAT TRACKED FOR 35 MILES ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO STATE 
HIGHWAY 92...LASTING FOR JUST OVER ONE HOUR.

THE WEATHER QUIETED DOWN FOR ALMOST A MONTH BEFORE AN ERUPTION OF 
TORNADOES OCCURRED ON JUNE 11TH AND 13TH. THIRTY-TWO TORNADOES 
OCCURRED DURING THIS TWO DAY PERIOD. FOUR OF THESE TORNADOES WERE 
RATED STRONG. ON JUNE 11TH...NINE TORNADOES TOUCHED DOWN IN SWIFT 
COUNTY ALONE. ON THIS DAY THE TORNADO EVENT PEAKED AROUND 4 PM CDT 
WHEN A STRONG F2 RATED TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN BENSON...AND REMAINED 
ON THE GROUND FOR 8 MILES BEFORE LIFTING OFF IN THE TOWN OF DE GRAFF. 
THIS TORNADO DAMAGED 71 STRUCTURES...INCLUDING 4 HOMES AND 7 BUSINESSES 
THAT WERE LATER CONDEMNED. SEVERAL PEOPLE WERE INJURED AS THEY FLED 
FROM A VAN JUST AS THE TORNADO ROARED THROUGH THE EASTERN EDGE OF BENSON. 

ON JUNE 13TH...CENTRAL MINNESOTA WAS RAKED FROM THE ORTONVILLE AREA 
EAST TO BRAINERD. AN F3 RATED TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN WEST OF PARKERS 
PRAIRIE JUST BEFORE 7 PM CDT...AND REMAINED ON THE GROUND FOR 12 
MILES. THE TORNADO CAUSED CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE ACROSS SOUTHEAST OTTER 
TAIL COUNTY...WITH AN INITIAL DAMAGE ESTIMATE OF 5 MILLION DOLLARS. 
ANOTHER STRONG TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 1 MILE SOUTH OF BRAINERD IN CROW 
WING COUNTY...AND TRACKED NORTHEAST TO JUST EAST OF BRAINERD. THIS 
TORNADO KNOCKED DOWN THOUSANDS OF TREES AND KILLED 41 HEAD OF 
LIVESTOCK. NUMEROUS ROOFS WERE TORN OFF HOUSES.

EARLY WARNING PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS...AND THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WITH EMERGENCY MANAGERS...AMATEUR RADIO 
GROUPS...AND SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO NO 
FATALITIES AND ONLY 13 INJURIES DURING THIS RECORD SETTING YEAR. 

MOST TORNADOES IN MINNESOTA OCCUR DURING THE MONTHS OF MAY...JUNE 
AND JULY...BUT TORNADOES HAVE OCCURRED IN EVERY MONTH EXCEPT 
DECEMBER...JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. JUST LAST YEAR...A WEAK TORNADO 
TOUCHED DOWN ON NOVEMBER 1ST NEAR WILLMAR. 

HERE ARE THE LAST 10 ANNUAL TORNADO TALLIES FOR MINNESOTA:

2001 72*
2000 33
1999 36
1998 57
1997 47
1996 33
1995 33
1994 34
1993 47
1992 39 

IN CONTRAST...THE LOWEST TORNADO COUNT FOR A YEAR WAS 1950...WHEN 
ONLY ONE TORNADO WAS REPORTED. IN SECOND PLACE WAS 1951...WITH 3 
OBSERVED TORNADOES.

BETTER RADAR TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT POSSIBLE TORNADIC AREAS...AND A 
LARGER NUMBER OF SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE 
GREATER NUMBER OF TORNADO SIGHTINGS IN THE LAST 5 YEARS.

*THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHANHASSEN IS STILL INVESTIGATING A 
POSSIBLE WEAK TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN APPLE VALLEY MINNESOTA ON 
SEPTEMBER 9TH.

MARC KAVINSKY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGIST

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