Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota · 2010

EF0 tornado, Rapidan, Minnesota, August 13, 2010

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Blue Earth County on August 13, 2010, touching down at 5:35 PM CDT and reaching 25 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
August 13, 2010
Touchdown
5:35 PM CDT (22:35 UTC)
Lifted
5:37 PM CDT (22:37 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.1 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Blue Earth County
Touchdown point
44.139, -94.116
Lift-off point
44.139, -94.115
Record number
1008131635-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A line of severe thunderstorms developed east of Alexandria, Minnesota, and quickly moved east-northeast across central Minnesota and produced measured winds in excess of 80 mph at times. ||Several thousand trees were either uprooted or blown down from eastern Stearns County, eastward across western Benton, and southern Morrison County. There was a semi blown over near Rice, a large communication tower blown down, and several sheds and barns damaged or destroyed.

Tornado touched down just southeast of the intersection of Highways 60 and 169. It hit a field and lofted numerous corn stalks. After dissipating, the parent circulation moved to the vicinity of the intersection of County Road 90 and State Highway 22, but no additional touchdowns were noted. Tornado was photographed by spotter.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Aug 13, 1:33 PM CDT, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 1:33 PM CDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
133 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

.DISCUSSION...
ANOTHER BUSY DAY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA... TRYING TO TIDY UP
FROM THE ACTIVE WEATHER OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS WHILE PREPARING
SOME MORE POTENTIAL ACTIVITY OVER THE UPCOMING 12 HOURS. LATEST
WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND RUC UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWING THE MAIN
UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED PV ANOMALY MOVING THROUGH THE EASTERN
DAKOTAS AT THE CURRENT TIME... WITH A LEADING PV FILAMENT
CURRENTLY EXTENDING NORTHEAST FROM SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA TOWARD
THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD. THE MAIN PV FEATURE/SHORTWAVE APPROACHING
THE WESTERN MINNESOTA BORDER LOOKS TO BE THE IMPETUS TO PUSH THE
SURFACE TROUGH/COOL FRONT THROUGH THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING... AND IT SHOULD HELP GET MORE WIDESPREAD AND ORGANIZED
CONVECTION GOING AS IT MOVES INTO THE AREA OVER THE NEXT FEW
HOURS. UNTIL THEN... SCATTERED MAINLY ELEVATED CONVECTION LOOKS TO
PERSIST OVER THE AREA AS WEAK WARM ADVECTION HELPS TO SPARK A FEW
STORMS. EXPECT CONVECTION TO DEVELOP/ORGANIZE ALONG A NORTH-SOUTH
ORIENTATION OVER CENTRAL INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA BY MID
AFTERNOON... THEN TRANSITION EAST NORTHEASTWARD THROUGH THE
EVENING HOURS. HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS LOOK TO BE THE PRIMARY
THREATS... ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS STILL A POSSIBILITY...
MAINLY OVER SOUTH CENTRAL INTO PART OF EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
WHERE SURFACE BASED CIN MAY BE MINIMIZED. AT THE CURRENT TIME...
0-1KM SHEAR IS MINIMAL OVER MOST OF THE AREA... BUT IT MAY BECOME
ENHANCED A BIT AS THE UPPER WAVE APPROACHES. WITH FREEZING LEVELS
REMAINING HIGH... VERY LARGE HAIL DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A
SIGNIFICANT THREAT... EXCEPT PERHAPS WITH ANY ROTATING STORMS
WHICH MANAGE TO FORM. HEAVY RAIN WILL CERTAINLY BE A POTENTIAL
ISSUE... SINCE MANY AREAS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL
MINNESOTA AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN HAVE SEEN 2 TO 5
INCHES OF RAIN OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS. ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL
OVER PREVIOUSLY HARD HIT AREAS WILL EXACERBATE ANY LINGERING
FLOODING AND/OR QUICKLY LEAD TO NEW FLOODING.

FOR THE SHORT TERM THROUGH TONIGHT... FORECAST IS PRIMARILY BASED
ON A BLEND OF EXTRAPOLATION... THE HRRR... AND SREF GUIDANCE.
BEYOND TONIGHT THROUGH THE BALANCE OF THE SHORT TERM... WHEN THINGS
GENERALLY QUIET DOWN... USED A BLEND OF PERSISTENCE FROM THE
PREVIOUS FORECAST TOGETHER WITH THE GFS AND SREF. FOR THE EXTENDED
PERIOD... STUCK CLOSE TO HPC GUIDANCE... WHILE TRYING TO MINIMIZE
POPS AND NOT BLANKET TOO MANY PERIODS.

FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND UPPER TROUGH MOVE EAST THROUGH THE AREA
TONIGHT... TRANSITIONING THE HIGHER POPS FROM WEST TO EAST AS IT
DOES SO. ALTHOUGH THE INITIAL TROUGH/FRONT PASSES THROUGH
TONIGHT... WE DON/T GET A SECONDARY TROUGH PASSAGE UNTIL LATER ON
SATURDAY... WHICH LOOKS TO USHER IN THE DRIER BOUNDARY LAYER AIR
WE NEED TO FINALLY SCOUR OUT THE CHANCE OF PCPN. SO... WILL
INITIALLY LOWER POPS BEHIND TONIGHT/S FEATURE WHILE LINGERING SOME
OVER THE NORTH WHERE BETTER MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES REMAIN... THEN
WILL BRING SOME CHANCE POPS BACK ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHILE THE SECONDARY FEATURE DRIVES THROUGH
THE STATE AND BRINGS MORE LEGITIMATELY COOL AND DRY AIR TO THE
AREA.

SURFACE RIDGING AND PREDOMINANTLY NORTHWEST UPPER FLOW LOOK TO BE
ANCHORED IN PLACE FROM SUNDAY INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK... WITH
MINIMAL RETURN FLOW ANTICIPATED. WILL GO WITH A DRY FORECAST FOR
THE ENTIRE AREA FROM SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WITH THE EXPECTATION
THAT THE AIRMASS WILL BE SUFFICIENTLY DRY TO PRECLUDE THE
DEVELOPMENT OF ANY SHRA/TSRA DURING THE PASSAGE OF A FEW WEAK
SHORTWAVES THAT ARE PROGGED TO SWING THROUGH ON THE NORTHWEST
UPPER FLOW. BY TUESDAY NIGHT WE LOOK TO GET ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE
SURFACE RIDGE AND PERHAPS SEE ENOUGH MOISTURE RETURN FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF SOME PCPN. THIS INITIAL SURGE OF MOISTURE RETURN
LOOKS TO ABATE ON WEDNESDAY... BUT A MORE PERSISTENT PERIOD OF
MOISTURE RETURN ALONG WITH ZONAL UPPER FLOW IS PROGGED TO ARRIVE
LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY... SO WILL BRING A CHANCE BACK ACROSS
THE ENTIRE AREA BY THAT TIME.

WITH NORTHWEST UPPER FLOW AND SURFACE RIDGING FOR MUCH OF THE
FORECAST BEYOND SATURDAY THE MAIN STORY WILL BE THE COOLER
TEMPERATURES... BOTH DAYTIME HIGHS AND OVERNIGHT LOWS... WITH
VALUES RUNNING NEAR OR A BIT BELOW NORMAL MOST OF THE WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION.../18Z TAF ISSUANCE/

SAME SCENARIO AS PER PREVIOUS AVIATION DISCUSSION WITH CONVECTION
DEVELOPING ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF A POTENT SHORT WAVE MOVING
INTO FAR SW MN AS OF 12 PM. SHRA/TSRA AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE WILL
ALLOW FOR EMBEDDED LOWER CEILINGS AND POSSIBLY MVFR CEILINGS...BUT
THE MAIN ACTION SHOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAIN WAVE EXPECTED
TO IMPACT RWF/AXN BETWEEN 18-20Z...AND AT STC ARND 19-21Z...AND AT
RNH/MSP BETWEEN 20-22Z. CEILINGS SHOULD BE PREDOMINATELY
VFR...WITH ONLY A SHORT PERIOD OF IFR/MVFR IN TSRA. ALTHOUGH IF
THE CONVECTION BECOMES MORE WIDESPREAD...MVFR/IFR CEILINGS MAY
DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY DURING THE EARLY EVENING HRS IN WEST CENTRAL
WISCONSIN...AFFECTING MAINLY EAU/RNH.

BETWEEN 00-06Z...COLD FRONT SHOULD HAVE MOVED THROUGH MOST OF THE
TAF AREAS OF MSP. WITH ONLY CBS OR VCTS FOR EAU BETWEEN 02-04Z/14.
AFT 06Z...EXPECT SOME IFR/LIFR CEILINGS/VSBYS AS WNDS DECOUPLE AND
AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINS. LATER SHIFTS WILL NEED TO UPDATE
FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF VV001 AND 1/4SM IN FG FOR STC/MSP/RNH/EAU.
RWF/AXN...SHOULD NOT BE AS BAD IN TERMS OF CEILINGS/VSBYS.
HOWEVER...THIS IS BASED ONLY ON THE LATEST SHORT TERM MODELS.

MSP...SHRA/TSRA AND LOWER CEILINGS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP BETWEEN
20-21Z...AND LAST FOR AN HR TO TWO. IFR/MVFR CEILINGS WILL BE
POSSIBLE...BUT SHOULD ONLY LAST FOR A SHORT PERIOD OR UNDER A HALF
HOUR. MOST OF THE CONVECTION SHOULD BE DONE BY 01-02Z...OR AT
LEAST THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY WITH ONLY FG/BR AND LOWER CEILINGS
POSSIBLE DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD. WNDS WILL BE FROM THE S/SE
THIS AFTN...BECOMING W/NW THIS EVENING...THEN SHIFTING TO THE S ON
SATURDAY. THERE MAY BE A TEMPORARY PERIOD OF MVFR CEILINGS THRU
19Z AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE FROM SHRA/TSRA TO THE SE OF MSP...MOVE
OVER THE MSP TAF AREA.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR FREEBORN-GOODHUE-
     STEELE.

WI...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR BARRON-CHIPPEWA-DUNN-
     EAU CLAIRE-PEPIN-PIERCE-RUSK-ST. CROIX.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 13, 11:58 AM CDT, 5 hours 37 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1158 AM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-
141700-
DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS-
BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA-
KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-
YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA-
REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH-
WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK-BARRON-RUSK-
ST. CROIX-PIERCE-DUNN-PEPIN-EAU CLAIRE-
1158 AM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL BE MOVING INTO MINNESOTA TODAY WITH
MORE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE. THE MAIN RISK OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT...
MAINLY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 10 PM. AREAS WHICH HAVE A POTENTIAL TO
SEE SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE PRIMARILY SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM
FAIRMONT THROUGH THE SOUTHERN TWIN CITIES METRO AREA TO
LADYSMITH... WITH THE GREATEST RISK SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MANKATO
THROUGH RED WING TO EAU CLAIRE. AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS POSSIBLE...
MAINLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM FAIRMONT TO FARIBAULT... BUT THE
PRIMARY THREATS FROM STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN.
THE HEAVY RAIN COULD EXACERBATE CURRENT HIGH WATER CONDITIONS AND
LEAD TO ADDITIONAL FLOODING... PARTICULARLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A
LINE FROM NEW ULM THROUGH THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA TO CHIPPEWA
FALLS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON... BUT
SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN
ON TUESDAY NIGHT... AND FROM THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY... ALTHOUGH NO
ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS APPEAR LIKELY AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
OVER PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA INTO WEST
CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 13, 4:36 PM CDT, 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED WORDING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
436 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

MNZ044-049>052-058>060-065>068-132215-
BENTON-CARVER-HENNEPIN-ISANTI-MCLEOD-MEEKER-MILLE
LACS-RENVILLE-SHERBURNE-SIBLEY-STEARNS-WRIGHT-
436 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO BENTON...CARVER...HENNEPIN...ISANTI...
MCLEOD...MEEKER...MILLE LACS...RENVILLE...SHERBURNE...SIBLEY...
STEARNS AND WRIGHT COUNTIES

THROUGH 515 PM CDT...

AT 432 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF
ST AUGUSTA TO 7 MILES NORTH OF DASSEL TO 3 MILES SOUTH OF CORVUSO.
THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

HAIL UP TO DIME SIZE AND WINDS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE
STORMS.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...
  DARWIN.
  DASSEL.
  STEWART.
  DUELM.
  STOCKHOLM.
  SMITH LAKE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS THUNDERSTORM COULD INTENSIFY QUICKLY...SO BE READY TO ACT IF A
WARNING IS ISSUED.

&&

LAT...LON 4556 9346 4518 9365 4472 9405 4472 9483
      4518 9441 4556 9423
TIME...MOT...LOC 2133Z 270DEG 26KT 4548 9414 4518 9428
          4490 9458

JLT
Local storm report, Aug 13, 4:37 PM CDT, 58 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
437 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0430 PM     HAIL             HUGO                    45.16N 92.96W
08/13/2010  M0.75 INCH       WASHINGTON         MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            DIME SIZE

&&

MKM
Local storm report, Aug 13, 4:52 PM CDT, 43 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 13, 4:57 PM CDT, 38 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
457 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0453 PM     TSTM WND DMG     RICE                    45.75N 94.23W
08/13/2010                   BENTON             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            3 LARGE 24 INCH TREES DOWN BLOCKING 2ND AVE. NE

&&

LRS
Local storm report, Aug 13, 5:16 PM CDT, 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
516 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0300 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ROYALTON                45.83N 94.29W
08/13/2010                   MORRISON           MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            WIND DAMAGE FROM NEAR ROYALTON EAST ALONG AND NEAR EAST
            NATURE ROAD FOR ROUGHLY 13 MILES. DAMAGE INCLUDED A
            CHICKEN BARN ROOF BLOWN OFF... SHINGLES BLOWN OFF A
            HOME... AND LARGE TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED.

&&

TRH
Local storm report, Aug 13, 5:30 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
530 PM CDT FRI AUG 13 2010

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0526 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     6 SW MANKATO            44.11N 94.08W
08/13/2010                   BLUE EARTH         MN   AMATEUR RADIO

            MULTIPLE REPORTS FROM TRAINED SPOTTERS.

&&

DFC

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), 12:00Z

10.6 hours before the tornado, 89 km from the path. August 13, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2010-08-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 112 joules per kilogram, CIN -488, lifted condensation level 959 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2010-08-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 177 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 51 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
112 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-488 J/kg
Surface CAPE
50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
959 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
206 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7
0-3 km lapse rate
3.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), 00:00Z

1.4 hours after it, 89 km from the path. August 14, 2010.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2010-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1194 joules per kilogram, CIN -80, lifted condensation level 963 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2010-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 56 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 46 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1194 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-80 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1155 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
963 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
101 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.2
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Mankato (MKT), 18 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2010 tornado in MinnesotaEvery tornado in Minnesota since 1950Warnings in force in Minnesota nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of August 13, 2010

3 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 133:04 AM CDTEF1Dakota, MN1.51251$750,000
August 133:22 PM CDTEF1Dodge, MN4.9140$110,000
August 135:40 PM CDTEF0Olmsted, MN0.025

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.