Minnesota, 1997

Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Minnesota, August 14 to 15, 1997

August 14 to 15, 1997 · NWS MPX · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

3 tornado, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 tornado, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Le Sueur

When
August 14, 5:50 PM CST to 5:55 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur County, Le Center to 1 mi E of Le Center
Rating
F0
Path length
6 mi
Path width
100 yd
Coordinates
44.400, -93.720

Hail, Rice

When
August 14, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Rice County, 10 mi N of Faribault
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.450, -93.270

Hail, Rice

When
August 14, 6:11 PM CST
Where
Rice County, 1 mi E of Little Chicago
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.480, -93.300

Tornado, Goodhue

When
August 14, 6:30 PM CST to 6:40 PM CST
Where
Goodhue County, Wanamingo to 2 mi E of Hader
Rating
F1
Path length
5.5 mi
Path width
100 yd
Coordinates
44.280, -92.820

Several barns destroyed. Roof ripped off home on farmstead. Wall knocked down and roof ripped off storage facility at Soil Center. Damage estimated at $100,000.

Tornado, Goodhue

When
August 14, 6:40 PM CST
Where
Goodhue County, 2 mi NE of Goodhue
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
44.420, -92.600

Flash Flood, Steele

When
August 14, 7:00 PM CST to August 15, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Steele County, Medford
Coordinates
44.022, -93.226 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Slow moving thunderstorms deposited 4 to 6 inch rain amounts in area. Several roads washed out.

Flood, Rice

When
August 14, 7:00 PM CST to August 15, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Rice forecast zone
Coordinates
44.354, -93.297 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rains the previous night caused the Straight River to rise over its banks in the city of Fairbault...south to the county line. Teepee Tonka Park and adjoining roadways flooded.

What these are

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Minnesota, 1997Warnings in Minnesota, August 1997

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: 5618134, 5618132, 5618133, 5618137, 5618138, 5618135, 5618136.