Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota · 2010

EF0 tornado, Guckeen to Easton, Minnesota, June 26, 2010

Name: EF0 tornado, Guckeen to Easton, Minnesota, June 26, 2010
Start: 2010-06-27T02:24:00.000Z
End: 2010-06-27T02:28:00.000Z
Location: Guckeen to Easton, Minnesota

From Guckeen to Easton, this EF0 tornado ran 2.7 miles across Faribault County on June 26, 2010, touching down at 9:24 PM CDT and reaching 30 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.

EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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: June 26, 2010
Touchdown: 9:24 PM CDT (02:24 UTC)
Lifted: 9:28 PM CDT (02:28 UTC)
On the ground: 4 minutes
Path length: 2.7 miles (4.4 km)
Path width: 30 yards (27 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Faribault County
Touchdown point: 43.687, -94.162
Lift-off point: 43.689, -94.108
Record number: 1006262024-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A small thunderstorm complex in eastern South Dakota moved into west central Minnesota during the late afternoon hours of Saturday June 26th. This small complex of thunderstorms quickly became severe and bowed out across southern Minnesota during the late afternoon and evening hours. Numerous reports of high winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes along the leading edge of this squall line/bow echo from far west-central Minnesota, near Canby, eastward across south central and portions of east central Minnesota, south of the Twin Cities. Flash flooding also became a concern as rainfall rates were as high as 1.5 inches per hour that caused several areas in southern Minnesota to have signficant street flooding that led to stalled cars.

Dozens of trees were broken or uprooted, two grain bins were destroyed, an auger was moved, several sheds were damaged, and a granary was moved.

Several trees were broken, the roof was partially removed from a large shed, a grain bin was damaged, outbuildings sustained minor damage, and a narrow path was observed in an adjacent corn field.

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 Jun 26, 6:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 26, 6:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 56 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
628 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

.DISCUSSION...

WARM FRONT BECOMING WELL DEFINED VCNTY MN/I BORDER WITH AROUND
5000 J/KG ML CAPE SE SD INTO NW IA. VERY LITTLE CIN OVER THIS AREA
AS WELL. STRONG...MAINLY ELEVATED CELLS CONTINUE TO MOVE TOWARD SW
MN. CURRENT 850-300 /EW AND SLIGHTLY ESE/ THICKNESS FIELD
SUGGESTS THE STRONGEST STORMS INITIALLY MOVING ACROSS SOUTH
CENTRAL MN. MORE UPSCALE DEVELOPMENT QUITE POSSIBLE LATER AS THE
UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES ALONG WITH DEVELOPING LARGE SCALE UPPER
DIV. THE UPPER DIV IS FORECAST TO MAXIMIZE LATER TONIGHT. THE LOW
LEVEL/850 MB MOISTURE TRANSPORT IS FORECAST BY BOTH THE GFS AND
NAM TO DECELERATE OVER SE MN AND CENTRAL WI LATER TONIGHT. THERE
IS SOME UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE HEAVIER RAIN AXIS DEPENDING ON THE
OUTFLOWS THIS EVENING...BUT GIVEN THAT CORE METRO PROBLEMS AND A
HEAVIER RAIN AXIS THAT OCCURRED INTO WI LAST NIGHT...HAVE EXPANDED
THE FFA A LITTLE FARTHER ENE.

STILL DECENT CONSISTENCY WITH THE TROUGH TO MOVE OUT SUNDAY
MORNING...BUT SOME CHANCE THAT WEAK VORT MAY AID SOME DEVELOPMENT
OF ISOLD CELLS NE AREAS SUNDAY EVENING. THE GFS IS THE MOST
AGGRESSIVE WITH BRINGING A SHORT WAVE INTO THE UPPER RIDGE LATE TIN
THE WEEK. WILL KEEP THINGS DRY UNTIL FRIDAY NIGHT AND
SATURDAY...AND THEN INTRODUCE A CHANCE. IS SUSPECT THAT MUCH OVER
A WEEK OF NO PRECIP IS HARD TO COME BY THIS TIME OF YEAR. THE
RIDGE SEEMS TO BE STRONG ENOUGH ALONG WITH THE SAME DRY SIGNALS
FROM THE NAEFS AND GEFS TO KEEP THE DRY FORECAST INTO FRIDAY.
WE SHOULD GET A COUPLE OF DAYS OF COOLER TEMPS AFTER THIS TROUGH
PASSAGE AND THEN GRAVITATE BACK TO NEAR NORMAL OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE BY
THE END OF THE WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION... /00Z TAF ISSUANCE/

IFR/MVFR FLIGHT CATEGORIES WILL OCCUR THIS EVENING DUE TO BATCH OF
TSRA MOVING THROUGH THE AREA. VERY MOIST AIR CONTINUE TO OVERRIDE
AND LIFT NORTHWARD OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST THIS EVENING.  THE CORE OF
THE MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM WAS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL MN...MOVING
SOUTHEAST. SFC LOW PRESSURE TROUGH OVER THE DAKOTAS INTO THE CENTRAL
PLAINS...WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE AREA BY MID DAY SUNDAY.  CONDS
WILL IMPROVE FROM WEST TO EAST WITH CLOUD HEIGHTS LIFTING TO VFR
CATEGORY.

KMSP...WIDESPREAD IFR/MVFR FLYING CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL IN
SHRA/TSRA THROUGH MIDNIGHT. CONDS IMPROVING ONCE THE SFC TROUGH
MOVING EAST OF THE AREA. SEE CURRENT TAF FOR DETAILS.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY
     MORNING FOR BLUE EARTH-BROWN-CARVER-DAKOTA-FARIBAULT-
     FREEBORN-GOODHUE-HENNEPIN-LE SUEUR-MARTIN-NICOLLET-RAMSEY-
     REDWOOD-RICE-SCOTT-SIBLEY-STEELE-WASECA-WASHINGTON-WATONWAN.

WI...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY
     MORNING FOR CHIPPEWA-DUNN-EAU CLAIRE-PEPIN-PIERCE-ST. CROIX.

&&

JPR/JM

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 26, 1:46 PM CDT, 7 hours 38 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
146 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-
271900-
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-
146 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE MIDDLE OF
THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT ACROSS MOST OF THE OUTLOOK AREA. A
MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED DURING THIS
TIME FRAME GENERALLY WEST OF A LINE FROM MADISON TO SPRINGFIELD.
A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM SOUTH OF A LINE...FROM
APPLETON...TO BLOMKEST...TO WATERTOWN...TO NEW PRAGUE TO NORTHFIELD.
A WARM FRONT WILL LIE NEAR THE MINNESOTA AND IOWA BORDER BY MID
TO LATE THIS AFTERNOON...POTENTIALLY CAUSING ANOTHER ROUND OF LATE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWEST AND
SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM ANY OF THESE
STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP DURING THAT TIME INCLUDE LARGE HAIL...
HEAVY RAIN...AND SOME TORNADOES. ALSO...A COLD FRONT WILL TRACK
ACROSS THE DAKOTAS INTO WESTERN MINNESOTA DURING THE EVENING AND
INTO CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN LATE TONIGHT.
THIS WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE
ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA TONIGHT...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN
BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. IN ADDITION...FLASH FLOODING IS
POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA...PRIMARILY IN SOUTH
CENTRAL MINNESOTA WHERE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN
ON SUNDAY. NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

THE RECENT RAINFALL ACROSS THE AREA HAS LED TO RIVER RISES.
DEPENDING ON RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND PLACEMENT THROUGH EARLY
SUNDAY...THE MINNESOTA RIVER MAY RISE TO NEAR FLOOD STAGE DURING
THE COMING WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL DEFINITELY BE NEEDED.

AZ

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 26, 8:52 PM CDT, 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
852 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

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

0835 PM     TSTM WND DMG     GAYLORD                 44.55N 94.22W
06/26/2010                   SIBLEY             MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.

&&

CARLYON

Local storm report, Jun 26, 8:55 PM CDT, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
855 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

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

0855 PM     HEAVY RAIN       ST JAMES                43.98N 94.63W
06/26/2010  M2.20 INCH       WATONWAN           MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STREET FLOODING, WATER UP OVER CURBS.

&&

AJZ

Local storm report, Jun 26, 9:04 PM CDT, 20 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jun 26, 9:12 PM CDT, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
912 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

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

0855 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SW MANKATO            44.16N 94.00W
06/26/2010                   BLUE EARTH         MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SCATTERED TREES DOWN BLOCKING INTERSECTION WARREN AND
            HIGHLAND.

&&

CARLYON

Local storm report, Jun 26, 9:14 PM CDT, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
914 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

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

0901 PM     TSTM WND GST     5 SSW LAKE CRYSTAL      44.04N 94.26W
06/26/2010  M52 MPH          BLUE EARTH         MN   MESONET

            MNDOT ROADWAY SENSOR.

&&

CARLYON

Local storm report, Jun 26, 9:23 PM CDT, 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
923 PM CDT SAT JUN 26 2010

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

0922 PM     TSTM WND GST     4 W BELLE PLAINE        44.62N 93.85W
06/26/2010  M60 MPH          SCOTT              MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

AJZ

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), 00:00Z

2.4 hours before the tornado, 136 km from the path. June 27, 2010.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 1959 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -106 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 2965 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 876 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 34 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: -0.1
Supercell composite: -0.6
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Fairmont Municipal (FRM), 23 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

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

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:23 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 track Every 2010 tornado in Minnesota Every tornado in Minnesota since 1950 Warnings in force in Minnesota now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 26, 2010

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 26	4:21 PM CDT	EF1	Walsh, ND	6.0	200
June 26	5:27 PM CDT	EF0	Hutchinson, SD	0.1	50
June 26	5:47 PM CDT	EF1	Marshall, MN	3.0	100
June 26	6:02 PM CDT	EF0	Miner, SD	0.3	50
June 26	8:12 PM CDT	EF0	Osceola, IA	0.1	50
June 26	8:15 PM CDT	EF0	Osceola, IA	0.1	50
June 26	8:45 PM CDT	EF0	Polk, MN	8.1	50
June 26	9:11 PM CDT	EF0	Le Sueur, MN	0.3	25
June 26	9:20 PM CDT	EF0	Le Sueur, MN	1.4	50
June 26	9:35 PM CDT	EF0	Scott, MN	1.9	50
June 26	9:38 PM CDT	EF0	Faribault, MN	0.5	30
June 26	9:47 PM CDT	EF0	Faribault, MN	0.8	50

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.