2 Minnesota counties have had 5 tornadoes in a single day this summer
Damage surveys conducted by the National Weather Service have resulted in the confirmation of five tornadoes in Grant County in northwest Minnesota during the August 14 severe weather outbreak that also saw numerous tornadoes in southern parts of the state.
It's the second time this year that a Minnesota county has had five tornadoes in a single day, with Grant County joining Otter Tail County, which had five tornadoes, including a killer EF-4 tornado, on July 8.
Three of the Grant County tornadoes were rated EF-0 with winds 65-85 mph, and there was one EF-1 (86-110 mph winds) and one EF-2 (111-135 mph winds).
"It's important to acknowledge Grant County Public Safety Responders and the trained Weather Spotters that take training and learn how to safely follow storms and help alert warning points. Your efforts do not go unnoticed," Grant County officials said.
A single-day record for tornadoes in one county in Minnesota isn't known, though the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service said that the most in a county since 2010 were the eight twisters that hit Freeborn County in southern Minnesota during the historic June 17, 2010 tornado outbreak.
There were 48 tornadoes in Minnesota that day.
Though it is getting late in the storm season for Minnesota, 2018 serves as a reminder that tornado outbreaks can happen even later than mid-August. On Sept. 20, 2018, there were 25 confirmed tornadoes in an area from near Mankato off to the east-northeast all the way to the Wisconsin border near Red Wing.