Small, but potent thunderstorms caused tornadoes and a waterspout during the evening of August 26, 2019.
At around noon on Monday, August 26 there was a large swath of moderate to heavy rain marching eastward across Minnesota ahead of a cold front. As the rain moved off to the east, some sunshine appeared and a broken line of thunderstorms rapidly developed behind the main area of rain. Some of the cells were strong enough to produce tornadoes and a waterspout.
The waterspout was seen by many over Farm Island Lake in Aitkin County. This caused dock, boat and tree damage. Two tornadoes were surveyed in Mille Lacs County: an EF-0 tornado north of Milaca and an EF-1 south of town. The tornadoes caused damage to sheds, shingles, a chicken coop and at least one hapless trampoline.
This event, like the one on July 28, 2019 shared some similarities with the tornadoes of August 19, 2009.
The Chanhassen National Weather Service did a survey of the August 26, 2019 tornadoes in Mille Lacs County.
Below are storm reports collected from the National Weather Service.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 454 PM CDT WED AUG 28 2019 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0732 PM TORNADO 4 ESE MILACA 45.73N 93.58W 08/26/2019 MILLE LACS MN NWS STORM SURVEY EF1 TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 2.5 MILES. DESTROYED A POLE BARN AND RIPPED ABOUT HALF THE ROOF DECKING OFF A NEARBY HOME. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 450 PM CDT WED AUG 28 2019 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0656 PM TORNADO 7 ESE HILLMAN 45.98N 93.75W 08/26/2019 MILLE LACS MN NWS STORM SURVEY EF0 TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR APPROXIMATELY 3.5 MILES. MOST DAMAGE WAS TO A GARAGE ALONG 290TH ST. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 626 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2019 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0623 PM HAIL 1 SSW VERNON CENTER 43.95N 94.17W 08/26/2019 E1.00 INCH BLUE EARTH MN TRAINED SPOTTER MOSTLY DIMES TO NICKELS WITH A FEW QUARTERS. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 727 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2019 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0720 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 7 ESE DEERWOOD 46.43N 93.77W 08/26/2019 AITKIN MN LAW ENFORCEMENT AITKIN COUNTY SHERIFF RECEIVED A REPORT OF A FUNNEL CLOUD OVER FARM ISLAND LAKE WITH A POSSIBLE WATERSPOUT. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 730 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2019 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0727 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 3 WSW GLORY 46.40N 93.65W 08/26/2019 AITKIN MN LAW ENFORCEMENT AITKIN COUNTY SHERIFF RECEIVED A REPORT OF A FUNNEL CLOUD WITH THE SAME STORM JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE PREVIOUS REPORT.
Modified August 29, 2019