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A confirmed tornado struck rural Minnesota Friday night
A confirmed tornado touched down in rural west central Minnesota on Friday evening. The storm sent residents of Stevens County scrambling for shelter as a powerful line of storms swept east across the state. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado near Lake Hattie, roughly 12 miles southwest of Morris. Storm chasers in the area captured dramatic video of the funnel as it moved through open country. As of the latest reporting, officials had not confirmed any injuries or property loss.
Residents rushed to shelter as the warning went out
The Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Stevens County shortly before 8 p.m. Officials urged anyone in the southern and southeastern parts of the county to move immediately to the lowest level of a sturdy building. The tornado tracked slowly across mostly rural terrain, which likely limited its impact compared with a storm of the same strength hitting a populated town.
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Hail and wind added to the danger
The tornado was only part of a violent evening of weather. Alongside it, the storms dropped hail ranging from ping pong ball to tennis ball size. Wind gusts reached near 60 miles per hour during the same window. Forecasters warned that flying debris posed a serious hazard to anyone caught outdoors, with mobile homes, roofs, windows, vehicles and trees all at risk. Heavy rain accompanied the system too, raising a localized flooding threat on rural roads.
The tornado formed inside a much larger outbreak
This tornado formed inside a broader outbreak of severe weather across the state. A severe thunderstorm watch stretched from Cass County in the north down to Rock County near the Iowa border, staying in effect until 10 p.m. A line of storms ran from the International Falls area south into Stevens County, with additional clusters of showers and storms forming to the southwest. Because the entire system was tracking east, forecasters warned that more communities could face rough conditions later in the night.
How the night wound down
The most dangerous window passed relatively quickly. The initial tornado warning was set to expire by 8:45 p.m., and the surrounding severe thunderstorm warnings lapsed one by one as the cells moved on. Forecasters expected the full system to clear the region around or shortly after midnight. Local meteorologists kept monitoring the storms for any new development. Officials had not yet finished damage surveys, so the tornado’s official strength rating remained undetermined as of Friday night.
A familiar outcome for the Upper Midwest
For now, the takeaway fits a familiar pattern for this part of the country. A fast moving system produced a confirmed tornado and significant hail across a rural stretch of Minnesota. Residents heeded the warnings and took cover in time. The region appears to have avoided the worst case outcome as the storms pushed east and faded overnight.
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