Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota · 2025

Unrated tornado, Dent, Minnesota, June 16, 2025

This Unrated tornado ran 0.6 miles across Otter Tail County on June 16, 2025, touching down at 2:40 PM CDT and reaching 50 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 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. Unratedthis tornado

    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
Unrated
Date
June 16, 2025
Touchdown
2:40 PM CDT (19:40 UTC)
Lifted
2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
On the ground
5 minutes
Path length
0.6 miles (0.9 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Otter Tail County
Touchdown point
46.530, -95.680
Lift-off point
46.530, -95.670
Record number
2506161340-01

The damage survey

1 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FGF, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EFU.

  • Multiple pictures of the tornado (waterspout) exist showing it crossing Marion Lake SW of Perham MN but no damage was been reported.

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

What the Weather Service recorded

Low top or mini supercells developed in west central MN during the afternoon producing brief weak tornadoes.

Tornado was initially reported by law enforcement. Multiple pictures of the tornado exist showing it crossing Marion Lake SW of Perham MN but no damage has been reported.

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

The warnings

20 minutes of warning. NWS FGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:20 UTC, 20 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
12:00 UTC12:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGF
19:20 UTC20:00 UTCTornado WarningFGF
19:52 UTC20:30 UTCTornado WarningFGF
19:53 UTC21:40 UTCTornado WatchFGF
20:05 UTC20:30 UTCTornado WarningFGF
20:23 UTC21:00 UTCTornado WarningFGF
21:00 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningFGF

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:25 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.

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), 12:00Z

7.7 hours before the tornado, 247 km from the path. June 16, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2025-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 575 joules per kilogram, CIN -77, lifted condensation level 874 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2025-06-16The 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 50 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 22 knots.193958Sfc1 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
575 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-77 J/kg
Surface CAPE
96 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
874 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), 00:00Z

4.3 hours after it, 247 km from the path. June 17, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2025-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2580 joules per kilogram, CIN -34, lifted condensation level 876 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2025-06-17The 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 221 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 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
2580 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2509 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
876 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
221 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
245 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.6
Supercell composite
13.1
0-3 km lapse rate
6.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Detroit Lakes (DTL), 37 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
17:55 UTC69.862.60° 0 kt1009.1
18:15 UTC69.864.4300° 4 kt1009.1
18:35 UTC71.664.4350° 8 kt1008.8
18:55 UTC71.664.410° 8 kt1008.5
19:15 UTC69.864.4360° 9 kt1008.1
19:35 UTC69.866.210° 9 kt1008.1-RA
19:55 UTC6866.2330° 11 kt1008.1-RA
20:15 UTC66.264.4330° 14 kt1008.1-RA BR
20:35 UTC66.266.2340° 12 kt171008.1
20:55 UTC66.266.2340° 10 kt1007.8
21:15 UTC66.266.2330° 9 kt1008.1
21:35 UTC6866.2340° 7 kt1008.1

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

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 167 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:41 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
19:11 UTCTORNADO1 N ClitherallOtter Tail, MNA rotating storm with a weak funnel cloud was reported east of Battle Lake on social media. Location estimated via radar.
19:13 UTCTORNADO2 Ne ClitherallOtter Tail, MNA photo of a funnel and rotation was reported on social media east of Battle Lake. Location estimated via radar.
19:26 UTCTORNADO4 W HenningOtter Tail, MNAn observed tornado was reported on social media. Location estimated via radar.
19:36 UTCTORNADO2 Nw HenningOtter Tail, MNA video of a rotating wall cloud was reported northwest of Henning, MN.
19:40 UTCTORNADO1 W OttertailOtter Tail, MNPhotos of tornado from social media were reported near Perham, Minnesota right off of County HWY 108 and the corner of County Highway 78 towards Ottertail Lake.
19:45 UTCTORNADO3 E DentOtter Tail, MNA confirmed tornado touchdown was reported near State Highway 108 and Marion Lake.
19:49 UTCTORNADO1 W Deer CreekOtter Tail, MNA video of a funnel on social media was reported west of Deer Creek, MN.
20:00 UTCTORNADO1 N Deer CreekOtter Tail, MNA photo from social media of a tornadic storm was reported near Deer Creek, Minnesota.
20:38 UTCTORNADOBlue GrassWadena, MNA photo looking north of a wall cloud/lowering was reported on social media. Location estimated via radar.
20:41 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ssw BerthaTodd, MNCorrects previous tornado report from 2 SSW Bertha. Law enforcement dispatch reported roof blown off of barn near Bertha. It was determined that thunderstorm wind gusts caused this damage.
20:41 UTCTORNADO2 Ssw BerthaTodd, MNLaw enforcement dispatch reported roof blown off of barn near Bertha.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2025 tornado in MinnesotaEvery tornado in Minnesota since 1950Warnings in force in Minnesota nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 16, 2025

8 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 162:13 PM CDTUnratedOtter Tail, MN0.350
June 164:21 PM CDTEF1Crow Wing, MN11.5400
June 164:46 PM CDTEF1Crow Wing, MN10.9900
June 164:44 PM MDTUnratedKit Carson, CO0.010
June 166:31 PM CDTUnratedNicollet, MN0.225
June 166:58 PM CDTEF0Nicollet, MN1.350
June 167:04 PM CDTEF1Lincoln, NE0.850
June 167:20 PM CDTEF2Lincoln, NE3.150$140,000

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.