EF1 tornado, Isabella to Murphy City, Minnesota, June 12, 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

June 12, 2024

Touchdown

6:08 PM CDT (23:08 UTC)

Lifted

6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)

On the ground

7 minutes

Path length

4.2 miles (6.8 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Lake County

Touchdown point

47.614, -91.251

Lift-off point

47.575, -91.182

Record number

2406121708-01

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

• Swath of trees approximately 150 yards wide either uprooted or snapped based on satellite imagery. Worst of the damage along approximately a quarter mile stretch of the estimated tornado path.

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

Numerous severe thunderstorms moved across north-central and northeast Minnesota on the evening of Wednesday, June 12, 2024, producing large hail to the size of baseballs, isolated thunderstorm wind damage, and several tornadoes. Two distinct supercellular storms produced five tornadoes (rated EF-0 and EF-2) across portions of Crow Wing, Aitkin, and Carlton counties between roughly 6:15 PM and 7:30 PM. The supercell that tracked through Crow Wing and Aitkin County produced four separate tornadoes, first on/near Upper Whitefish Lake across to Clamshell Lake, or west of Crosslake, where a wide, sharp path of damage was found. This tornado dissipated, with a second tornado forming south of Wolford, west of Rabbit Lake (north of Crosby). This second tornado appeared to have a mainly continuous path of damage from near Wolford to Rabbit Lake to Cedar Lake to Prescott Lake. There may have been a break in this tornado as it traveled across the Crow Wing State Forest, but a combination of storm chaser and spotter video as well as ground surveys seemed to indicate a mainly consistent path of damage. A third tornado near the northern portion of Hammal Lake and continued east-southeast through Hanging Kettle Lake and Ripple Lake, where it destroyed a three-season cabin and boat house, toppled an 85 foot tall antenna tower, and uprooted and snapped numerous trees. This supercell then later produced a weak, wispy tornado with no known damage near Glen, MN, with the particular length of this tornado unknown due to limited access in this area. While this supercell was |ongoing, a separate supercell briefly produced a weak tornado in northwest Carlton County where mainly minor tree damage (large branches, a few trees snapped) was observed north of Wright, MN. No injuries or fatalities were reported, and NWS Duluth had a Tornado Warning in effect for these storms for the duration of time they produced tornadoes.||Another earlier storm that was the earliest supercell of the severe storm event, initially developed over Koochiching County and into far northern Saint Louis County where it split. The right split headed for Ely, MN, and continued on a southeast path towards Tofte. The supercell was rotating throughout its lifetime, with a report of a funnel cloud when the storm was east of Ely. The storm briefly weakened for a time, then strengthened and produced strong mid-level rotation northeast of Isabella. This storm then produced an EF-1 tornado starting near Tanner Lake to the northeast of Isabella that tracked southeast for just over four miles, creating a swath of numerous uprooted and snapped trees. This tornado rating was determined based on satellite imagery, and NWS Duluth is coordinating to learn more about any air or ground surveyed damage from our partners at the Superior National Forest which may result in a future revision in the tornado rating.||Another isolated storm developed during the late evening hours across north-central Minnesota and move into Itasca County after midnight. This storm produced ping-pong ball sized hail and downed some trees near Wirt.

Tornado damage initially appeared on the northeast shore of Tanner Lake (east of Dumbbell Lake), crossing Wanless Road (Forest Road 172) on a southeastward track. Satellite imagery depicts sporadic tree damage along the path, with a particularly impressive swath of trees that were uprooted or snapped east of East General Grade Road (Forest Road 362) measuring approximately 150 yards in width and a quarter mile in length. Damage continues to be evident for another mile or so before no additional discernible damage is evident. No fatalities or injuries were reported. Tornado rating was determined based on satellite imagery, and NWS Duluth is coordinating to learn more about any air or ground surveyed damage from our partners at the Superior National Forest which may result in a future revision in the tornado rating.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 20:32 UTC and running to 01:54 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 19:50 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.

Ely (ELO), 53 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:07 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.

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.