Storms, May 26, 2020

damage
Light damage in Rosemount, MN, from a small tornado on May 26, 2020.
 
Credit: Emily Harrington

Minnesota's first tornadoes of the year accompanied a mass of rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday May 26, 2020.

Amid a moderately wet pattern spanning several days in southern parts of the state, a spiraling weather system lunged northward from eastern Oklahoma and Kansas late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, crossing Kansas City near noon and making it into western Iowa by afternoon.

As the system approached the region, dew points in the upper 60s and temperatures above 80F spread into southern and eastern Minnesota. The circulation of the weather system ignited several waves of showers and thunderstorms, with the heaviest forming along and near the western edge of the warm and humid air mass, draped from near Hinckley, down into the Twin Cities, and towards Albert Lea.

The National Weather Service confirmed that two of the storms produced small tornadoes. One was reported in residential Rosemount in Dakota County, where a small area of light damage occurred. Another tornado traveled for a half-mile in Freeborn County, producing scattered tree damage.

The storms produced prolonged moderate to occasionally heavy rains in some areas on Tuesday afternoon and evening. The southeastern third of Minnesota received widespread 1-2" rainfall totals. Parts of the southeastern Twin Cities area, from Dakota into Washington counties, reported 2 to sometimes over three inches of rain.  

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
641 PM CDT WED MAY 27 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0215 PM     HAIL             4 SE BOYD               44.91N 90.98W
05/26/2020  M0.88 INCH       CHIPPEWA           WI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL LASTED LESS THAN A MINUTE WITH JUST A
            FEW STONES.

0500 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 NW DALLAS             45.30N 91.89W
05/26/2020                   BARRON             WI   PUBLIC

            ROOF BLOWN OFF OUTBUILDING, SOFFITS RIPPED
            OFF BARN.

0510 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 SW ALDEN              43.64N 93.62W
05/26/2020                   FREEBORN           MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FUNNEL CLOUD ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED.

0549 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 SSE FREEBORN          43.74N 93.54W
05/26/2020                   FREEBORN           MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            THIS WAS ONE OF TWO FUNNEL CLOUDS AT THE
            SAME TIME THAT WERE PHOTOGRAPHED BY SEVERAL
            PEOPLE AND REPORTED BY TRAINED SPOTTERS, AND
            WHICH LASTED 10-15 MINUTES. THE OTHER FUNNEL
            CLOUD WAS A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH.

0602 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     1 SW HARTLAND           43.79N 93.51W
05/26/2020                   FREEBORN           MN   BROADCAST MEDIA

            CORRECTS PREVIOUS FUNNEL CLOUD REPORT FROM 1
            SW HARTLAND. ROPE FUNNEL NEARLY AT THE
            GROUND, INCONCLUSIVE BASED ON TWITTER
            PICTURES. NO DAMAGE REPORTED NOR ANY DEBRIS
            CLOUD WITNESSED. TIME CORRECTED BASED ON
            TIME STAMP.

0700 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     DURAND                  44.63N 91.96W
05/26/2020                   PEPIN              WI   PUBLIC

            REPORT VIA FACEBOOK WITH PICTURE OF FUNNEL.

0715 PM     TORNADO          1 NE ROSEMOUNT          44.75N 93.11W
05/26/2020                   DAKOTA             MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            DOCUMENTED BY NON-NWS METEOROLOGIST WITH
            EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, ALONG WITH DAMAGE
            PICTURES. FEW TREES DOWN. TOUCHDOWN WAS
            BRIEF AND TORNADO WENT INTO AN OPEN AREA
            BEFORE DISSIPATING.

0725 PM     TORNADO          8 NE MYRTLE             43.65N 93.06W
05/26/2020                   FREEBORN           MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TORNADO WAS CAUGHT ON VIDEO FOR ABOUT ONE
            MINUTE AS IT MOVED TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST.
            DEBRIS CLOUD WAS VISIBLE AND A FEW TREES
            WERE KNOCKED DOWN. PATH LENGTH APPROXIMATELY
            1/2 MILE.

0730 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     5 NW DUNDAS             44.49N 93.27W
05/26/2020                   DAKOTA             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER



0800 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 W CEDAR FALLS         44.94N 91.93W
05/26/2020                   DUNN               WI   AMATEUR RADIO

            FEW TREES DOWN. TIME APPROXIMATE.

0800 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SSW TAINTER LAKE      44.97N 91.85W
05/26/2020                   DUNN               WI   AMATEUR RADIO

            FEW TREES DOWN, INCLUDING ONE OF 16 INCH
            DIAMETER. TIME APPROXIMATE.

0832 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KENYON                  44.27N 92.99W
05/26/2020                   GOODHUE            MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            LARGE TREE LIMB DOWN AT THE CORNER OF RED
            WING AVE. AND 1ST ST. DIAMETER ESTIMATED AT
            12-18 INCHES. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

 

Modified May 28, 2020

 

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