This Day in Weather History: June 22nd

Weather History - June 22nd

June 22nd, 1916:

An estimated F2 tornado moved northeast from 4 miles east of Willow Lakes to east of Vienna, in Clark County. A farmhouse was picked up and thrown into a granary. A boy was smothered to death by grains as a barn collapsed on him one mile south of Vienna.

June 22nd, 1919:

The second deadliest tornado in Minnesota's history occurred on this day, as an estimated F5 killed 59 in Fergus Falls. The storm damaged 400 buildings. The tornado sent a blank check 60 miles away. Four hundred buildings were destroyed. Of the 59 victims, 35 were guests of the Grand Hotel.

June 22nd, 1996:

From the morning through the late afternoon hours, several supercell thunderstorms moved southeast along a strong, warm front from eastern Corson County to southwest Deuel County. These storms produced tornados, large hail, heavy rains, and damaging winds. Hail up to the size of baseballs and winds gusting to 70 mph damaged and destroyed thousands of acres of crops and broke windows in homes, buildings, and vehicles. Many roofs were damaged, and trees were downed near Mobridge, Redfield, and Toronto. The most extensive crop, building, and tree damage occurred around Redfield, Vienna, Naples, Hazel, Bryant, Henry, Lake Norden, Castlewood, Estelline, and Toronto, all south of Highway 212. The hail swaths of destruction were as much as 10 miles wide. Some farmers said you could not tell what was planted because the crops were destroyed. Hail piles of one to two feet were reported in some areas. Also, most of the area from Redfield to Toronto received one to three inches of rain, which caused flooding problems.