Longest Tornado Track

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Tornadoes in northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and southwest & central Wisconsin
Background Information	Statistics (1850-Present)	Records (1850-Present)

Longest Tracks in Miles in Southeast Minnesota, Northeast Iowa, & Western Wisconsin 1850 to Present
Rank	Length (miles)	Date	Time	Location	Counties Affected	Width (Yards)	Deaths	Injuries	EF-Scale
1	80	5/15/1965	1945-2124 CST	Nora Springs 2N (IA) to Yucatan (MN)	Fillmore, IA; Floyd, IA; Houston, MN; Howard, IA; Micthell, IA; Winneshiek, IA	150	0	17	F4
	Moved east-northeast from 2 miles north of Nora Springs, passing 3 miles north of Cresco and lifting near Yucatan, MN. The only F4 damage was to two large farm houses, 3 miles northwest of Kendallville in Winneshiek County. About 28 farms lost buildings in Iowa. Six people were injured in Minnesota, as homes and barns were destroyed near Canton, Lenora, and Newburg (Fillmore County). Six people were injured in Floyd County and 5 in Howard County.
	80	6/22/1944	1900 CST	Fennimore to Freeport 10ENE (IL)	Grant, WI; Lafayette, WI; Stephenson (IL)	800	9	78	F4
	Moved southeast from near Fennimore into northern Illinois. Seven people were killed and 65 were injured in Grant County with $1 million in damage. The people were killed in three homes, all in the Belmont area of Lafayette County. Four people died in town and three in a single farm house southeast of town. About 25 homes and 60 barns were destroyed. Most of the injuries occurred at the south edge of Belmont, as 16 homes were destroyed. In Illinois, 66 farms lost barns and 21 homes were destroyed. One man was killed in a trailer near Winslow (IL), and a woman was killed as her home was leveled 3 miles northeast of Cedarville. Hundreds of livestock were killed in both states. Total damage was estimated at $2 million.
	80	5/21/1918	1815 CST	Elkport 4SW to Baraboo	Clayton, IA; Grant, WI; Iowa, WI; Richland, WI; Sauk, WI	400	8	100	F4
	One of the largest tornadoes during an outbreak of 19 in Iowa, this tornado touched down in Clayton County, Iowa and didn't lift until it hit Sauk County, Wisconsin, some 80 miles east-northeast. After causing extensive damage in Guttenberg, IA, the tornado crossed the Mississippi River 1 mile south of Glen Haven. Farms were lightly damaged in Grant County as the tornado probably lifted and re-formed.
4	75	9/28/1971	1415-1501 CST	Boyd 2S to Merrill 1N	Chippewa, WI; Clark, WI; Lincoln, WI; Marathon, WI	300	0	5	F3
	A complex family of tornadoes tracked from south of Boyd (Chippewa Co.), to 7 miles south of Thorp, to 1 mile south of Dorchester, to near Athens (Marathon Co.), to north of Merrill (Lincoln Co.). A brick school lost its roof and a wall. Three peple were injured when their car was blown 200 feet off the road. About 60 farms along the track were damaged. The livestock loss was severe. Damage was estimated at $2,000,000. At least three different tornadoes were involved. There were 3 injuries in Chippewa County, 1 injury in Marathon County, and 1 injury in Clark County.
5	65	5/15/1968	1510-1600 CST	Hansell 1NE to Chester 2S	Butler, IA; Chickasaw, IA; Floyd, IA; Franklin, IA; Howard, IA	400	13	462	F5
	Moved northeast from north of Hansell, passing east of Aredale, west of Greene, east of Marble Rock, and devastating Charles City. The tornado grew larger and more intense as it approached Charles City. The huge funnel passed directly through town, destroying 337 homes, and causing about $30 million in damage. The tornado continued to the northeast hitting Elma and causing another $1.5 million in damages. From there the tornado turned to the north and dissipated south of Chester, 4 miles south of the Minnesota border. Nearly 2000 homes were damaged or destroyed. All 13 deaths occurred in Floyd County. 450 injuries were reported in Floyd County and 12 injuries in Howard County.
	65	5/10/1953	1830 CST	Fountain City 2NE to Colburn	Buffalo, WI: Eau Claire, WI; Chippewa, WI; Trempealeau, WI	200	0	10	F4
	Moved northeast from northeast of Fountain City to Colburn (Chippewa Co.). This tornado or tornado family struck about a hundred farms. Eight farms were hit in Glencoe Township, northeast of Fountain City. Total damage from this tornado was $1,000,000.
	65	9/21/1924	1430 CST	Augusta 2ESE to Chelsea 2N	Clark, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Taylor, WI	400	18	50	F4
	What was probably a family of tornadoes moved northeast from near Augusta (Eau Claire County) to 10 miles southwest of Thorp (Clark County) to north of Chelsea (Taylor Co.). Near Rib Lake, at least 20 farms were destroyed or altogether obliterated. Thirty other farms were damaged. Fourteen people were killed in Clark County and four in Taylor County. The lack of alignment in the positions of destroyed farms, in the Withee-Thorp-Owen area hint strongly that more than one tornado was involved. Four people died and 13 were injured in that area at a Sunday School meeting in a farm house. One entire wall of a home was reportedly carried for 14 miles. Damage may have been F5 intensity 4 miles south of Thorp and north of Withee near the county border. Damage estimates were $229,000.
8	60	9/21/1894	2030 CST	Mason City (IA) 5NE to Spring Valley (MN)	Cerro Gordo, IA; Fillmore, MN; Mitchell, IA; Mower, MN	800	16	70	F4
	This tornado moved northeast from 5 miles northeast of Mason City, Iowa killing at least 3 people in northeast Cerro Gordo County. At least four people died in homes 4 miles northeast of Osage as 13 farm houses wee destroyed in that county. At Leroy, Minnesota, damage totalled $120,000 as four people were killed and 80 buildings were damaged or destroyed including 35 homes. Entire farms were leveled southwest of Spring Vally. Ten homes were destroyed, five people killed and 35 injured in the northwest part of Spring Valley as losses there totalled $60,000.
9	55	7/3/1907	1700 CST	Neillsville 12SW to Elroy 1NE	Clark, WI; Jackson, WI; Juneau, WI; Monroe, WI; Sauk, WI	800	11	40	F4
	Most likely a family of tornadoes, they tracked south-southeast crossing a total of 5 counties. At least 20 homes were leveled. Three people were killed just outside of Oakdale (Monroe Co.) A hundred people were left homeless in town. Four people died at "Tunnel Siding" north of Elroy. At least four, and possibly six, people were killed north of Tomah.
	55	6/6/1906	1630-1830 CST	Burr Oak, IA to Stoddard, WI to Coon Valley 10NE	Fillmore (MN), Houston (MN), La Crosse (WI), Vernon (WI), Winneshiek (IA)	400	4	18	F4
	"The tornado was flrst observed in northeastern Iowa at 430 pm, near Burr Oak. A large brick home was destroyed southeast of Newhouse (Houston County.), just inside the Minnesota border. Clothes from the home were found over three miles away. One boy was severely injured, and may have died later. He had been closing windows on the second floor when the tornado struck. This tornado then continues east-northeast to near Reno, MN, and Stoddard, WI where it crossed the Mississippi River at 5:40 pm. It was last observed at 6:30 pm in the town of Washington, La Crosse County, WI, about 2 miles west of Portland. Its path curved slightly to the northward as it progressed, and was about 55 miles in length. It destroyed all buildings in its path, killed 4 persons and injured 18. A mother and two children were killed as their farm near Freeburg, MN was leveled. One child was carried about half a mile. The other death occurred 2 miles east of Stoddard. The property loss was estimated at $70,000, exclusive of timber and crops, but the latter were not damaged to any great extent, because they were not far advanced. The tornado was characterized by many peculiar and violent phenomena usual to these storms. There was comparatively little electrical display, nor was the rainfall unusual. Its crossing the river near Stoddard was marked by well defined waterspout formation, and it destroyed a heavy wooden railway bridge across the Raccoon Creek nearby. Its action on the steep bluffs and in the deep ravines that mark the banks of the river was peculiar in that the windward or southwest exposures suffered far less damage, as shown by prostrated timber, than did the northeast slopes, where the full vorticular effect was very evident; whereas the southwest slopes, instead of showiug trees thrown in all directions, as is usual, showed trees, with few exceptions, thrown to the left across the entire breadth of the track. Many of the trees on these southwest slopes were broken off 10 to 15 feet above the ground. Another peculiar feature was the decreased violence on the top of the bluffs, which are here about 400 feet above the valley, and the immediate resumption of full destructive effect, not only in the deep ravines, but on the lee side of steepest declivities. Such destruction as occurred on the tops of steep hills crossed by the storm was most apparent on the farther edge, where trees invarlably were thrown in the direction of the storm, probably caused by the air rushing toward the vortex when it had resumed full violence at lower levels. The path of the storm averaged about 400 yards wide where its action could be determined in the timber. The vortex was quite distinct and regular, and, compared with the height of the bluffs which it crossed, seemed about 800 feet high, rapidly widening at the top. The vorticular motion was plainly discernible. Hail fell on the northwest side of the track. It took something less than 2 hours to travel its course." Source: Monthly Weather Review, Volume 34, Issue 6 (June 1906)
	55	10/3/1903	1350 CST	Chatfield 3W to Independence (WI)	Buffalo, WI; Olmsted, MN; Trempealeau, WI; Winona, MN	300	9	45	F4
	This tornado moved northeast from west of Chatfield, passing through and devastating St.Charles (Winona Co.). Seven people were killed and 30 injured as 50 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Homes were also swept away in Wisconsin, where two people died in Independence (Trempealeau Co.) and half of the town was torn apart. Damage for both states totalled $400,000.

Last Updated Thursday, April 30, 2020 - Jeff Boyne

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