Tornado damages homes, businesses in central Minnesota town

The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed a tornado touchdown in Melrose in western Stearns County on Saturday evening.

The EF1 tornado emerged out of a supercell thunderstorm that was rotating in the area about 8 p.m., said NWS Twin Cities meteorologist Eric Ahasic. The tornado’s 4-mile path began outside of town, where it damaged farms. As it traveled into town, the tornado also damaged businesses, reaching maximum winds of 95 miles per hour.

Social media posts show the tornado’s destruction:

“It produced pretty large hail as well,” Ahasic said, noting 3-inch hailstones in Todd County, north of the touchdown. He said the NWS wasn’t aware of any tornado-caused injuries.

The NWS is also evaluating damage near Atwater in Kandiyohi County to determine whether or not it was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds. “That’s a little bit more iffy,” Ahasic said. “If it was a tornado, it was very small.”

By the time the Melrose storm arrived in the western Twin Cities metro, damage was more along the lines of fallen branches or trees, Ahasic said.

In September 1980, an EF3 tornado ripped through Melrose and the surrounding area, injuring 15 and killing a 15-month-old girl, according to NWS statistics and the Star Tribune archive.