August 26, 2019, Farm Island Lake Waterspout

Overview

A few weak thunderstorms developed near Lake Mille Lacs the evening of the 26th ahead of a cold front. While the overall threat of severe storms was low, one of the storms did produce a waterspout over Farm Island Lake that did produce damage along the shore. This storm produced additional funnel clouds, but no other waterspouts or tornadoes were reported.

The waterspout from the southeast corner of the lake.

(Photo courtesy Tim Meyer)

Waterspout
Damage Photos

Waterspout

Waterspout - Farm Island Lake, MN
Aitkin County, MN

Date	August 26, 2019
Time (Local)	7:05 PM - 7:12 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	60 mph
Path Length	1.85 miles
Max Width	30 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: The waterspout developed over the northwestern arm of Farm Island Lake east of Johnson's Point and moved to the southeast, passing just offshore of the southwest tip of the point. It then turned a little more easterly and passed near or over the northern tip of First Island and over open water before moving over the southern part of Delicarlia Peninsula. Docks were damaged at this location along with a few boats flipped and tree damage. The waterspout then turned more easterly and moved across Church Camp Bay before reaching shore again, damaging another dock, flipping multiple boats and causing sporadic tree damage. It then turned a but more southeasterly and traveled through a grove of trees and dissipated before reaching US Highway 169. We would like to thank Scott Boyd of Farm Island Repair & Marine and Cheryl McDonough of the Farm Island Lake Improvement Association for their assistance in gathering information on this event.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File


View looking north from the SE corner of the lake. (Tim Meyer)	View looking north from the SE corner of the lake. (Tim Meyer)	View looking northeast from the southwest side of the lake. (Cheryl McDonough)	View looking almost due north from near the public launch on the south end of the lake. (Jen Ehnstrom)

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Damage Photos


Damage that occurred where the waterspout moved ashore on the eastern side of the lake. (Jim Hayes)	Damage that occurred where the waterspout moved ashore on the eastern side of the lake. (Jim Hayes)	Damage that occurred where the waterspout moved ashore on the eastern side of the lake. (Jim Hayes)	Damage that occurred where the waterspout moved ashore on the eastern side of the lake. (Jim Hayes)

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