Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, July 12, 1995

Name: Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, July 12, 1995
Start: 1995-07-12T02:20
End: 1995-07-12T06:30
Location: Minnesota

July 12, 1995 · 10 events in 7 counties and zones

8 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $7,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mnz003 - 016 - 017 - 022>024 - 027>031 - 039

When: July 12, 2:20 AM CST
Where: Mnz003 - 016 - 017 - 022>024 - 027>031 - 039 County, Portions of West Cent
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)

Numerous tree damage. Strong winds also damaged boats and boat docks. Roof torn off home in Rothsay in northeast Wilkin County. Cattle barn also destroyed in area.

Thunderstorm Wind, Morrison

When: July 12, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Morrison County, Pierz
Coordinates: 46.013, -94.268 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trees and power lines down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Crow Wing

When: July 12, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, Cross Lake to Baxter
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 46.482, -94.071 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous trees were blown down across the county. A sailboat on Gull Lake was flipped over by the winds, along with pontoons at other resorts. Store signs in Brainerd were torn off and blown two blocks. Winds in Cross Lake were measured at 60 knots (69 mph). Trees in Baxter were blown down on cars.

Hail, Itasca

When: July 12, 4:35 AM CST
Where: Itasca County, Bovey
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Itasca

When: July 12, 4:58 AM CST
Where: Itasca County, Squaw Lake
Coordinates: 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Many power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Aitkin

When: July 12, 5:10 AM CST
Where: Aitkin County, Aitkin
Coordinates: 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Many trees were blown down.

Tornado, St. Louis

When: July 12, 5:55 AM CST
Where: St. Louis County, Central Lakes
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The tornado touched down in a back yard, lifted over a house, and touched down again in the front yard. Ten trees were uprooted, and window screens were blown in. A vehicle was also damaged by flying debris.

Thunderstorm Wind, Carlton

When: July 12, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Carlton County, Carlton
Coordinates: 46.592, -92.677 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Many trees were blown down, including a large tree that blocked a highway.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis

When: July 12, 6:19 AM CST
Where: St. Louis County, Fayal
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis

When: July 12, 6:30 AM CST
Where: St. Louis County, Duluth
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Many trees were blown down across the southern third of the county. A large complex of severe thunderstorms developed over the western Dakotas during the evening of July 11 and moved into northeast Minnesota by early morning on July 12. This was primarily a wind event, but one large hail report was received, and one small tornado briefly touched down, doing minimal damage. Thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 kts (69 mph) were recorded. The strong winds caused considerable tree damage, as well as extensive power outages due to trees falling on power lines. Crow Wing Cooperative Power and Light County reported about 3,700 people without power Wednesday morning, 2,500 in Longville and the Woman Lake area (Cass County) due to a substation down. Minnesota Power and Light had thousands of customers without power, most in Nisswa (Crow Wing County), Park Rapids (Hubbard County), and Walker (Cass County).

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 1995 Every state in 1995 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Minnesota, 1995 Warnings in Minnesota, July 1995

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10331415, 10330513, 10329337, 10331289, 10331290, 10331615, 10330536, 10331192, 10330537, 10330596.