Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

Tornadoes in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota

16 tornadoes have crossed Mille Lacs County since 1950, 70th of the 87 counties in Minnesota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.8 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 3. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
16
Deaths
2
Injuries
3
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, September 18, 1997

The deadliest in Mille Lacs County

  1. F3, Morrison and Mille Lacs counties, MinnesotaSeptember 18, 19971 killed, 1 injured
  2. F1, Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties, MinnesotaSeptember 16, 19551 killed

The strongest

  1. F3, Morrison and Mille Lacs counties, MinnesotaSeptember 18, 1997F3, 17.0 mi (27 km)
  2. F2, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Aitkin and Kanabec counties, MinnesotaJuly 3, 1985F2, 33.0 mi (53 km)
  3. F2, Mille Lacs County, MinnesotaJuly 21, 1995F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  4. F2, Mille Lacs County, MinnesotaJuly 8, 1959F2, 0.5 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 13 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Mille Lacs County. Each year links to every tornado in Minnesota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20192EF1
20111EF0
20001F0
19981F0
1997211F3
19951F2
19911F0
19861F1
19851F2
197422F1
19711F1
19591F2
195511F1

Every tornado that crossed Mille Lacs County

16 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 26, 20197:39 PM CDTEF1Mille Lacs2.350$200,000
August 26, 20196:43 PM CDTEF0Mille Lacs3.050$15,000
July 30, 20118:26 PM CDTEF0Mille Lacs5.2100$50,000
July 25, 20003:50 PM CDTF0Mille Lacs0.230
June 25, 199811:15 AM CDTF0Mille Lacs6.030
September 18, 19976:48 PM CDTF1Mille Lacs2.0500
September 18, 19976:15 PM CDTF3Morrison17.080011$1.7 million
July 21, 19957:04 PM CDTF2Mille Lacs10.0100
July 5, 19918:37 PM CDTF0Mille Lacs2.910
June 20, 19867:05 PM CDTF1Mille Lacs0.220$5,000 to $50,000
July 3, 19857:30 PM CDTF2Crow Wing33.0200$5,000 to $50,000
July 8, 197411:30 PM CDTF0Mille Lacs2.0171$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19741:45 AM CDTF1Mille Lacs1.92501$5,000 to $50,000
July 18, 19712:00 PM CDTF1Mille Lacs1.930$500 to $5,000
July 8, 19592:00 AM GMT-5F2Mille Lacs0.5300$50,000 to $500,000
September 16, 19553:30 PM GMT-5F1Mille Lacs10.4101$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Mille Lacs CountyThe forecast for Mille Lacs CountyThe live radar over Mille Lacs CountyEvery county in Minnesota

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.