Courtesy: Chanhassen National Weather Service
Strong thunderstorms bring gusty winds, heavy rains and a weak tornado on August 3, 2018.
In an otherwise quiet severe weather season in Minnesota, a weak tornado touched down in central Minnesota on August 3, 2018. A line of severe thunderstorms developed across western Minnesota and moved to the east during the evening hours. A weak, EF0 tornado touched down at 6:34pm just north of Atwater in and was on the ground for 11.2 miles. The track began in Kandiyohi County and the tornado moved to the east, dissipating northwest of Litchfield in Meeker County. There have been very few tornadoes this season in Minnesota, all have been weak so far.
The thunderstorms weakened a bit as they moved into the Twin Cities between 8-9pm There were still some gusty winds, including a gust of 55mph at the St. Paul Airport. There was also some welcome rain for the dry lawns in the Twin Cities. There was more rain in the St. Cloud area with two to four inches of rain just north of St. Cloud. A CoCoRaHS observer in Foley reported 3.80 inches. Sartell saw 3.45 inches. A location west of St. Cloud saw 2.43 inches and there were reports of flooded roads. The Twin Cities International Airport saw 1.02 inches of precipitation.
Below are Storm Reports and Public Information Statements from the National Weather Service.
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 350 PM CDT Sat Aug 4 2018 ...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 8/3/2018 TORNADO EVENT... .OVERVIEW...A line of severe thunderstorms developed over western Minnesota and continued east across central Minnesota during the evening hours. A surge of wind in a section of the line resulted in a tornado that developed just west of Atwater and continued eastward along Highway 12 to northwest of Litchfield. Pockets of tree damage, an overturned trailer, and some other minor structural damage to sheds and pole barns resulted. Straight line wind damage, mostly to trees, was found south of the tornado track and Highway 12. .ATWATER/GROVE CITY, MN TORNADO... Rating: EF0 Estimated peak wind: 80 mph Path length /Statute/: 11.2 miles Path width /Maximum/: 300 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start date: 8/3/2018 Start time: 634 PM CDT Start location: 1 WNW Atwater, MN Start Lat/Lon: 45.1407 / -94.7912 End date: 8/3/2018 End time: 645 PM CDT End location: 3 NW Litchfield, MN End lat/lon: 45.1527 / -94.5634 EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories. EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph EF4...Violent...166 To 200 mph EF5...Violent...>200 mph NOTE: The information in this statement is PRELIMINARY and subject to change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS Storm Data. TDK/BORGHOFF PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 845 PM CDT FRI AUG 3 2018 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0640 PM TSTM WND DMG GROVE CITY 45.15N 94.68W 08/03/2018 MEEKER MN LAW ENFORCEMENT SHERIFF'S OFFICE REPORTS ROOF DAMAGE AT HIGHWAY 12 AND 560TH. TIME ESTIMATED. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 845 PM CDT FRI AUG 3 2018 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0640 PM TSTM WND DMG GROVE CITY 45.15N 94.68W 08/03/2018 MEEKER MN LAW ENFORCEMENT SHERIFF'S OFFICE REPORTS ROOF DAMAGE AT HIGHWAY 12 AND 560TH. TIME ESTIMATED. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 935 PM CDT FRI AUG 3 2018 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0911 PM TSTM WND GST ST. PAUL DWTN AP 44.93N 93.06W 08/03/2018 M55 MPH RAMSEY MN ASOS ASOS STATION STP, ST. PAUL DWTN AP. 0852 PM TSTM WND GST MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AP 44.88N 93.23W 08/03/2018 M48 MPH HENNEPIN MN ASOS ASOS STATION MSP, MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AP. 0829 PM TSTM WND GST CRYSTAL AP 45.06N 93.35W 08/03/2018 M44 MPH HENNEPIN MN ASOS ASOS STATION MIC, CRYSTAL AP. PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 1026 PM CDT FRI AUG 3 2018 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 1013 PM FLASH FLOOD 1 WSW ST. CLOUD 45.55N 94.19W 08/03/2018 STEARNS MN EMERGENCY MNGR MULTIPLE REPORTS OF FLOODED ROADWAYS WITH STALLED OUT VEHICLES IN ST. CLOUD. THE INTERSECTION OF 2ND STREET SOUTH AND 29TH AVE SOUTH IS ONE EXAMPLE.