Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota · 2016

EF1 tornado, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, June 19, 2016

This EF1 tornado ran 7.2 miles across Saint Louis County on June 19, 2016, touching down at 7:06 PM CDT and reaching 250 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 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    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
EF1
Date
June 19, 2016
Touchdown
7:06 PM CDT (00:06 UTC)
Lifted
7:17 PM CDT (00:17 UTC)
On the ground
11 minutes
Path length
7.2 miles (11.6 km)
Path width
250 yards (229 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Saint Louis County
Touchdown point
47.279, -92.723
Lift-off point
47.274, -92.569
Record number
1606191806-01

The warnings

26 minutes of warning. NWS DLH issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:40 UTC, 26 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 22:21 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
14:27 UTC15:17 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
22:21 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchDLH
23:00 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
23:15 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
23:38 UTC00:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
23:40 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningDLH
23:45 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningDLH
00:06 UTC00:45 UTCTornado WarningDLH
00:15 UTC00:29 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
00:23 UTC01:00 UTCTornado WarningDLH
00:31 UTC01:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
00:40 UTC01:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
00:53 UTC01:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
01:29 UTC02:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
01:32 UTC02:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH
01:57 UTC02:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLH

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

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.

International Fa, MN (KINL), 00:00Z

0.1 hours before the tornado, 152 km from the path. June 20, 2016.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2016-06-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3172 joules per kilogram, CIN -9, lifted condensation level 1053 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2016-06-20The 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 34 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 70 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
3172 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3722 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1053 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
4.8
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

International Fa, MN (KINL), 12:00Z

11.9 hours after it, 152 km from the path. June 20, 2016.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2016-06-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -55, lifted condensation level 967 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2016-06-20The 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 -20 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 89 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-55 J/kg
Surface CAPE
5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
967 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
89 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
77 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:07 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
23:00 UTCHAIL 17 Ne CohassetItasca, MN
23:22 UTCHAIL 1PengillyItasca, MN
23:47 UTCTORNADO2 Nne JacobsonItasca, MNTIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. DEBRIS IS SEEN BEING LOFTED IN THE AIR FROM PHOTO.
23:51 UTCTORNADO4 Ne JacobsonItasca, MNFOUR OUTBUILDINGS DESTROYED WITH LOSS OF MACHINERY. MAJOR DAMAGE TO RESIDENCE AND ATTACHED GARAGE.
00:43 UTCTSTM WND DMGGoodlandItasca, MN6 TO 8 INCH DIAMETER TREE DOWN. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
00:53 UTCHAIL 1Swan RiverItasca, MN
00:54 UTCHAIL 14 N Swan RiverItasca, MN
01:25 UTCNON-TSTM WND DMG4 Nw EskoCarlton, MN3 CEDAR TREES BLOWN DOWN, ONE 18 INCH DIAMETER.
01:38 UTCHAIL 1.25MeadowlandsSt. Louis, MNLARGEST HAIL WAS HALF DOLLAR SIZED WITH SOME QUARTERS.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2016 tornado in MinnesotaEvery tornado in Minnesota since 1950Warnings in force in Minnesota nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 19, 2016

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 198:00 AM CDTEF1Lake of the Woods, MN3.0400
June 196:22 PM CDTEF0Roseau, MN0.320
June 196:29 PM CDTEF0Wadena, MN2.3100
June 196:49 PM CDTEF1Aitkin, MN8.1440
June 197:11 PM CDTEF2Crow Wing, MN3.5730

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.