Extensive damage at Lake Roosevelt from massive and devastating tornado on August 6, 1969.
Courtesy: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
On May 6, we commemorate the anniversary of a truly incredible tornado outbreak in the Twin Cities and some nearby rural areas.
Tornadoes are part of Minnesota's climate, and they have struck every part of our state. We therefore want to remind Minnesotans that other major tornado events have affected many areas. Below are some other tornado events worth remembering. This is not a comprehensive list. For more information about tornadoes in Minnesota, including other noteworthy dates, please see our Minnesota Tornado History and Statistics page.
Note: The Fujita or F-scale is a tornado damage rating system, based on the degree of damage to structures, named for the meteorologist who developed it. Research conducted in the 2000s showed that corresponding wind speeds in the F-scale had likely been too high, while also establishing a wider range of structures and objects that could be rated for tornado damage. The new "Enhanced Fujita" scale, or EF-scale, replaced the old system in 2007. See more here.
June 17, 2010
This outbreak produced 48 tornadoes in Minnesota alone, by far the largest total for a calendar day in the state (the regional total was 74). The tornadoes struck parts of 22 different counties, with three rated EF-4, and four rated EF-3. For perspective, from 2011 through 2024, Minnesota had only one EF-4 and no EF-3 tornadoes. Minnesota's three fatalities marked the first multiple-tornado-death event since March 29, 1998, and the most since August 6, 1969 (both discussed below).
- DNR Climate Journal story.
- Summary with maps and photos from Twin Cities National Weather Service Summary
- Interactive story map, including video, from NWS Grand Forks
March 29, 1998
This infamous late-winter outbreak resulted from one intense thunderstorm producing 13 separate tornadoes traveling over 100 total miles, with two fatalities and heavy damage across southern Minnesota, particularly in Comfrey, St. Peter, and Le Center.
June 16, 1992
This event held Minnesota's record for most tornadoes in a day, with 27, until the larger and more widespread outbreak of 2010 noted above. This day's tornadoes were concentrated in southwestern, western, and central Minnesota (along with other states as well). Many of the tornadoes were very to extremely damaging. The tornado at Chandler was rated F-5 (the highest damage rating available) and caused one fatality. An F-4 tornado struck nearby Lake Wilson, with six others rated at F-3 and 15 rated at F-2 that day.
August 6, 1969
The infamous "Northwoods" outbreak resulted from two areas of intense thunderstorms that produced over a dozen confirmed tornadoes, some of which were enormous and devastating. Tornadoes from one cluster affected Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, St. Louis, and Lake counties, with 12 deaths and extreme damage (rated F-4) along the shores of Lake Roosevelt and in the town of Outing. These tornadoes had surveyed widths on the ground of 1-2 miles at times, and the final tornado of this cluster terminated next to Lake Superior near Two Harbors. A second area of tornadoes affected the northern Iron Range, from north of Chisholm to just south of Ely.
April 27, 1967
The "Black Sunday" outbreak featured intense, fast-moving tornadoes across far southern and southeastern Minnesota. The nine tornadoes in Minnesota included three F-3s, killing13 Minnesotans and causing extensive damage in and near Waseca, Owatonna, and Albert Lea, along with other communities in Freeborn, Mower, Waseca, Steele, and Olmsted counties. Twelve other tornadoes struck Iowa.
Posted May 6, 2025
KAB