Tough day in history: Tornadoes ripped through Twin Cities 35 years ago

Thirty-five years ago on a late Sunday afternoon, three tornadoes from the same storm slashed through the Twin Cities from Edina to Shoreview in about 35 minutes, leaving one dead and injuring 84 people.

The tornadoes, which hit on June 14, 1981, ripped into homes, businesses, trees and power lines. The vicious storm spawned a tornado in Edina even before the National Weather Service was able to issue an alert.

Roseville took the hardest hit, especially in the Har Mar Mall area. The windows were blown out of a grocery store across Snelling Avenue where a Burger King drive-through sign was also batted down. Some two dozen shoppers in the area were injured — mostly by flying glass.