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Storm Events Database
Event Details:
| Event | Tornado |
| -- Scale | EF2 |
| -- Length | 3.1 Miles |
| -- Width | 100 Yards |
| State | MINNESOTA |
| County/Area | MEEKER |
| WFO | MPX |
| Report Source | NWS Storm Survey |
| NCEI Data Source | CSV |
| Begin Date | 2016-07-11 16:25 CST-6 |
| Begin Location | 1WSW LITCHFIELD |
| Begin Lat/Lon | 45.1237/-94.5454 |
| End Date | 2016-07-11 16:32 CST-6 |
| End Location | 2NNE LITCHFIELD MUNI ARPT |
| End Lat/Lon | 45.1566/-94.5039 |
| Deaths Direct/Indirect | 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...) |
| Injuries Direct/Indirect | 0/0 |
| Property Damage | 0.00K |
| Crop Damage | 0.00K |
| Episode Narrative | The morning of Monday, July 11th, two waves of thunderstorms moved across west central and central Minnesota. Very heavy rainfall and isolated hail occurred with the main area of storms. But these storms also produced a wide area of one half to two inches of rain by sunrise. The morning two events set the stage for flooding in central Minnesota as several additional waves of thunderstorms developed during the afternoon, and into the evening. By Tuesday morning, a wide area of three to six inches of rain fell from north of St. Cloud to Milaca and Mora. The highest totals were across northern Kanabec County where locally six to eight inches fell based on radar estimation. The Rum, Snake and Knife rivers spilled out of their banks and caused significant and widespread flooding. A secondary point related to this flooding event was that according to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, this storm, which continued into the morning hours of July 12th, was the largest mega-rain event since the Duluth flood of June 19-20, 2012. A mega-rain event is classified as a six-inch rainfall that covers at least a 1000 square miles, with a central core value of at least 8 inches. The secondary wave in the morning, weakened by the early afternoon. An isolated thunderstorms developed near Litchfield where an outflow boundary held from the previous morning storms. These storms moved slowly northward and produced three tornadoes along this boundary. The first tornado occurred near Litchfield, the second near Watkins, and the third north of Watkins. The tornado near Litchfield was rated an EF-2 with peak winds of 115 mph. It had a maximum width of 100 yards and traveled approximately 3.1 miles. The tornado caused a lot of tree damage, though three single family homes received significant roof damage, and a double wide manufactured home, and garage were flipped and rolled. Another garage and shed were destroyed near Highway 12 on the north side of town. The tornado near Watkins was also rated an EF-2 with peak winds of 125 mph. It had a maximum width of 400 yards and traveled approximately 2.1 miles. One injury occurred with this tornado. The first significant damage was to a business along Highway 55 on the south side of town. The tornado then tracked across the highway and passed through the St. Anthony Cemetery before passing through the center of Watkins doing damage to structures and many trees. The most significant damage occurred between Stearns Ave and Meeker Ave where several homes had significant roof damage, and had detached sheds, and garages destroyed. The tornado exited the town and did further tree damage at a farmstead outside of town before lifting shortly thereafter. The tornado north of Watkins was rated an EF-1 with peak winds of 105 mph. It had a maximum width of 250 yards and traveled approximately 4.2 miles. This tornado was spawned by the same storm that moved through Watkins. Multiple chaser videos showed the Watkins tornado lifted off the ground as it became occluded, with this tornadoes touchdown point made visible by the presence of corn laid down in the field south of the first homestead hit. This was about two-thirds of mile north- northeast of where the Watkins tornado lifted. At the first farmstead hit, two open air cattle sheds where completely destroyed, along with a metal storage shed and two mostly empty grain bins. There were two cattle killed at this location as well. This storm destroyed more outbuildings at a farmstead along 160th street, with the rest of the damage along the path of the tornado being corn laid flat and tree damage. |
| Event Narrative | The tornado near Litchfield was rated an EF-2 with peak winds of 115 mph. It had a maximum width of 100 yards and traveled approximately 3.2 miles. The tornado caused a lot of tree damage, though three single family homes received significant roof damage, and a double wide manufactured home, and garage were flipped and rolled. Another garage and shed were destroyed near Highway 12 on the north side of town. |
Event Map:
Note: The tornado track is approximate based on the beginning (B) and ending (E) locations. The actual tornado path may differ from a straight line.
All events for this episode:
| Location | County/Zone | St. | Date | Time | T.Z. | Type | Mag | Dth | Inj | PrD | CrD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals: | 0 | 1 | 50.00K | 0.00K | |||||||
| BELGRADE | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| ELROSA | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| HILLMAN | MORRISON CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| HILLMAN | MORRISON CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| PAGE | MILLE LACS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| SARTELL | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| SAUK RAPIDS | BENTON CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 04:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| MORRIS | STEVENS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 10:03 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| SARTELL | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 10:40 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.88 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| ST STEPHEN | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 12:15 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MORA | KANABEC CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 13:25 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| KROSCHEL | KANABEC CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 13:35 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.50 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| OXLIP | ISANTI CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 15:58 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| LITCHFIELD | MEEKER CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 16:25 | CST-6 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| WATKINS | MEEKER CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 16:52 | CST-6 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| ST NICHOLAS | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 16:56 | CST-6 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K |
| ST NICHOLAS | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 16:58 | CST-6 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| ROCKVILLE | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 17:16 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| HAWICK | KANDIYOHI CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 18:03 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| RICHMOND | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 18:22 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| ROSCOE | STEARNS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 18:22 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| HILLMAN | MORRISON CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:00 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| RUM RIVER | BENTON CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:00 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| FORESTON | MILLE LACS CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:30 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| WARMAN | KANABEC CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:30 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| MAPLE LAKE | WRIGHT CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:39 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MONTICELLO | WRIGHT CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:48 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| MONTICELLO | WRIGHT CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 19:50 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MONTICELLO | WRIGHT CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 20:00 | CST-6 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MONTICELLO | WRIGHT CO. | MN | 07/11/2016 | 20:00 | CST-6 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| Totals: | 0 | 1 | 50.00K | 0.00K |
