Monday tornado got to 300 yards wide, winds hit 107 mph
Weather officials confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Minnesota Monday, and offered more details about just how powerful they were.
The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday one tornado touched down near Lake Ann in Zimmerman from 5:36 p.m. to 5:49 p.m. Roads there are still closed as cleanup of downed trees and power lines continues, the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office says.
It was an EF-1 tornado (so on the weaker side, as far as tornadoes go) and marks the earliest tornado in Minnesota history. The previous record was March 18, 1968.
Here are more details about the twister:
Weather officials also confirmed a second tornado touched down in Clarks Grove, where building damage and uprooted trees were reported, according to the Freeborn County Sheriff's Office.
Details on how big the tornado was, how long it stayed on the ground and how strong the winds will be released later Tuesday on this link (then click the tornado tab).
The sheriff's office says businesses along Main Street – including the fire department, a fertilizer plant and some homes – suffered the most damage.
Some photos from Monday's storm can be found here.
More severe weather
Outside of Sherburne and Freeborn counties, which appeared to have sustained the most damage, there were "several hundred reports" of severe weather across the central U.S. Monday night.
That included an EF-2 tornado in Iowa, and wind damage plus large hail in central and southern Minnesota, the National Weather Service says. No storm-related injuries have been reported.
The early-season tornado wasn't the only weird weather event over the past 24 hours.
After high temperatures neared 70 degrees Monday, many Minnesotans woke up Tuesday morning to snow covering the ground and blustery wind gusts approaching 50 mph.
