EF1 tornado, Andover to Weber, Minnesota, August 29, 2024

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.

Rating

EF1

Date

August 29, 2024

Touchdown

4:32 PM CDT (21:32 UTC)

Lifted

4:43 PM CDT (21:43 UTC)

On the ground

11 minutes

Path length

9.6 miles (15.5 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Anoka and Isanti counties

Touchdown point

45.371, -93.305

Lift-off point

45.462, -93.156

Record number

2408291532-01

17 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MPX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 95 mph.

• Numerous trees and large branches were down, including some on a deck and which broke a window.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A well-defined cold front associated with a strong upper-level low produced widespread wind damage and a few tornadoes throughout central and eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin on August 29th, 2024. Four tornadoes occurred. There were also a number of downbursts, with some of the most significant downburst damage in Champlin, Anoka, and Cottage Grove.

Tornado developed in the northeast corner of Andover and continued north-northeast into the southeast portion of Oak Grove, where it dissipated. Hundreds of trees were broken or uprooted, some of which fell on houses, sheds, and vehicles. In addition to performing a storm survey, drone video from the Sheriff's Office was viewed.

A tornado developed in the northeast corner of Oak Grove, tracked across the southeastern part of St Francis, then into East Bethel. The tornado continued northeast into Isanti County. In Anoka County, hundreds of trees were broken or uprooted, some of which landed on houses, sheds, and vehicles. Part of a roof was blown off a machine shed at a farm.

A tornado developed in Anoka County and moved through portions of Oak Grove, St Francis, and East Bethel before crossing into Isanti County. In Isanti County, two��farm outbuildings were��destroyed and a pole barn��sustained roof damage. Hundreds of trees were also broken or uprooted.

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

0 minutes of warning. NWS MPX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:32 UTC, 0 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:41 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 19:34 UTC and running to 22:46 UTC.

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 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 19:54 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 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.

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:31 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in MinnesotaEvery tornado in Minnesota since 1950Warnings in force in Minnesota nowThe forecast where you are

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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