Severe weather and tornadoes hit Minnesota during the evening of July 14, 2003. Most of the tornadoes were confined to south and east central Minnesota with one tornado reported in northern St. Louis County. The preliminary total is 11 tornadoes for Minnesota on June 14. This number may be revised as more information arrives. Eleven tornadoes is not a one day record for Minnesota. Back in June 28, 1979 16 tornadoes slashed across the state. The largest hail reported on July 14th, 2003 was baseball (2.75 inch) hail at Indus in Koochiching County at 5:27 PM.

Listed below is a public information statement from the Chanhassen National Weather Service. This includes 10 of the 11 tornadoes reported.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1205 PM CDT THU JUL 24 2003
...NINE TORNADOES IN EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA ON JULY 14...
PLUS ONE MORE IN SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...
A DAMAGE SURVEY...PLUS STORM VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHS...HAVE LED TO THE 
CONCLUSION THAT THERE WERE EIGHT TORNADOES IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA ON JULY 14.
ONE ADDITIONAL TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA NEAR FOREST LAKE. 
A TENTH TORNADO IN COTTONWOOD COUNTY WAS REPORTED BY THE SIOUX FALLS NATIONAL 
WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

MANY THANKS TO THOSE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...
STORM SPOTTERS...STORM CHASERS AND OTHER CITIZENS WHO HELPED PROVIDE INFORMATION 
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SO THAT THE EVENTS ON JULY 14 COULD BE DETERMINED.  
SOME OF THE TIMES LISTED ARE APPROXIMATE AND MAY STILL BE CHANGED IF ADDITIONAL 
INFORMATION COMES IN. A STORM PRODUCED EIGHT TORNADOES ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL 
MINNESOTA FROM 730 PM TO 855 PM. THE FIRST TWO WERE IN BROWN COUNTY...
THE NEXT FIVE IN BLUE EARTH COUNTY...AND THE LAST WAS IN WASECA COUNTY.

1...AN F0 TORNADO TRACKED FROM 6 MILES WEST OF SEARLES TO 4 MILES WEST-NORTHWEST OF SEARLES.
  IT TORE ACROSS CORN FIELDS AND GROVES OF TREES AND WAS ON THE GROUND FOUR MINUTES. 
THE APPROXIMATE TIME WAS 730 PM.

2...ANOTHER F0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY ONE MILE NORTH OF SEARLES AT 752 PM.  
IT LANDED IN AN OPEN FIELD AND DID LITTLE DAMAGE.

3...AN F2 TORNADO ABOUT 50 YARDS WIDE WITH A PATH LENGTH OF ONE HALF MILE.  
THIS STORM WAS 3 MILES EAST OF LAKE CRYSTAL.  DAMAGE INCLUDED A ROOF PEELED AWAY 
FROM A HOME AS WELL AS A BARN AND SHEDS DOWN. THIS WAS AT ABOUT 820 PM WITH
 DISSIPATION AT 821 PM.

4...AN F1 TORNADO ABOUT ONE THIRD OF A MILE WIDE WITH A PATH LENGTH 2.5 MILES LONG.  
THIS STORM TRACKED FROM 2.5 MILES NORTHWEST OF RAPIDAN TO 1.5 MILES NORTH OF RAPIDAN. 
 DAMAGE INCLUDED MINOR HOUSE DAMAGE, SHEDS AND OUT-BUILDINGS COLLAPSED AS WELL AS TREE DAMAGE.
 THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AT 822 PM AND DISSIPATED AT 825 PM.

5...AN F1 TORNADO ABOUT ONE QUARTER OF A MILE WIDE WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3 MILES. 
IT TOUCHED DOWN AT 827 PM 1.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF RAPIDAN AND DISSIPATED AT 831 PM 3.5 MILES 
NORTHEAST OF RAPIDAN.

6...AN F1 TORNADO WITH A 2 MILE LONG PATH LENGTH TRACKING FROM 4 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF 
MANKATO TO 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MANKATO.  
DAMAGE INCLUDED TREES DOWN AS WELL AS MINOR BUILDING DAMAGE. THIS WAS AT APPROXIMATELY 835 PM.

7...AN F2 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 1.25 MILES TRACKED FROM 3.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF 
ST. CLAIR TO 4.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF ST. CLAIR.  
DAMAGE INCLUDED BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS DOWN...AS WELL AS A ROOF TORN OFF A HOUSE. 
IT TOUCHED DOWN AT ABOUT 843 PM AND DISSIPATED AT 848 PM. DEBRIS FROM THIS TORNADO WAS 
SEEN FLYING PAST A RADIO TOWER SEVERAL MILES DOWNWIND.

8...THE LAST TORNADO IN THE SERIES TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY IN WASCECA COUNTY AT 855 PM.  
IT WAS RATED F0 AND WAS 0.5 MILES WEST OF JAYNESVILLE. THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF DAMAGE.

9...ANOTHER TORNADO FROM A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORM SYSTEM PRODUCED A BRIEF TORNADO 
ON FOREST LAKE WHICH THEN MOVED ONSHORE FOR A BRIEF TIME.  IT FLIPPED A BOAT LIFT AND 
DOWNED SOME LARGE TREE LIMBS AS IT WAS DISSIPATING.  
THIS WAS IN NORTHWEST WASHINGTON COUNTY AT 730 PM.

10...THE SIOUX FALLS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE ALSO REPORTED ANOTHER TORNADO IN 
COTTONWOOD COUNTY...10 MILES NORTHWEST OF STORDEN AT 605 PM. 
          

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URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/tornadoes030714.htm
Last modified: July 24, 2003