Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

Tornadoes in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota

25 tornadoes have crossed Yellow Medicine County since 1950, 53rd of the 87 counties in Minnesota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.0 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 21. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and 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
25
Deaths
1
Injuries
21
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, July 25, 2000

The deadliest in Yellow Medicine County

  1. F4 Granite Falls tornado, MinnesotaJuly 25, 20001 killed, 15 injured

The strongest

  1. F4 Granite Falls tornado, MinnesotaJuly 25, 2000F4, 9.0 mi (14 km)
  2. F3, Yellow Medicine County, MinnesotaJune 16, 1992F3, 6.0 mi (10 km)
  3. F3, Yellow Medicine County, MinnesotaJune 16, 1992F3, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  4. F2, Yellow Medicine, Redwood and Brown counties, MinnesotaJune 21, 1981F2, 54.3 mi (87 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 19 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Yellow Medicine County. Each year links to every tornado in Minnesota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251Unrated
20211EF0
20151EF1
20141EF0
20111EF1
20051F1
20041F1
20031F0
20022F1
20011F0
20002115F4
19971F0
19941F0
19932F0
199226F3
19911F1
19871F1
19813F2
19651F1

Every tornado that crossed Yellow Medicine County

25 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 28, 20258:49 PM CDTUnratedYellow Medicine0.325
May 14, 20217:52 PM CDTEF0Yellow Medicine0.325
August 6, 20155:21 PM CDTEF1Yellow Medicine1.9440$500,000
March 31, 20143:50 PM CDTEF0Lyon10.7100$45,000
July 1, 20114:31 PM CDTEF1Redwood19.8300$1.2 million
September 12, 20057:40 PM CDTF1Yellow Medicine1.020
June 12, 20048:45 PM CDTF1Lincoln1.6100$100,000
June 24, 20038:38 PM CDTF0Chippewa3.050
August 16, 20028:43 PM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.225
June 25, 20028:10 PM CDTF1Yellow Medicine5.5100$60,000
June 10, 20011:19 AM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.125
July 25, 20005:57 PM CDTF4Granite Falls tornado9.0160115$20 million
July 25, 20005:45 PM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.220
July 25, 19971:50 AM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.250
July 15, 19943:22 PM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.110
June 7, 19936:57 PM CDTF0Yellow Medicine1.040
May 7, 19938:27 PM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.110
June 16, 19929:40 PM CDTF3Yellow Medicine2.51006$5 million to $50 million
June 16, 19925:30 PM CDTF3Yellow Medicine6.023
June 30, 19918:45 PM CDTF1Yellow Medicine0.210
June 28, 19872:20 PM CDTF1Yellow Medicine16.040$50,000 to $500,000
June 23, 19812:30 PM CDTF0Yellow Medicine0.120
June 23, 19812:00 PM CDTF1Yellow Medicine0.120$5,000 to $50,000
June 21, 19814:38 PM CDTF2Yellow Medicine54.3200$50,000 to $500,000
May 24, 19656:15 PM GMT-5F1Yellow Medicine0.510$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Yellow Medicine CountyThe forecast for Yellow Medicine CountyThe live radar over Yellow Medicine 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.