Otter Tail County Tornadoes on June 7, 2007

Hail:

Large hail up to two inches in diameter (hen egg sized) was reported with thunderstorms. View the Local Storm reports for more information.

Photos & Video:

Photo of Tornado 1 mile west of Elizabeth MN shortly after touchdown around 142 PM CDT. Photo courtesy of Chad Wheeler	Example of damage to a home in the Lake Lida loop area, north end of Lake Lida, MN. NOAA NWS storm survey photo.

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
1021 PM CDT THU JUN 07 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1250 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 NNW FAIRMOUNT         46.09N 96.63W 
06/07/2007                   RICHLAND           ND   PUBLIC          

0114 PM     HAIL             5 N FAIRMOUNT           46.13N 96.60W 
06/07/2007  E0.88 INCH       RICHLAND           ND   TRAINED SPOTTER 

0115 PM     HAIL             5 SW DORAN              46.13N 96.56W 
06/07/2007  E1.00 INCH       WILKIN             MN   NWS EMPLOYEE    

            HAIL CONTINUED UNTIL 118 PM CDT.

0120 PM     HAIL             3 N EMBDEN              46.85N 97.43W 
06/07/2007  E0.88 INCH       CASS               ND   PUBLIC          

0120 PM     HAIL             20 NW BEMIDJI           47.69N 95.18W 
06/07/2007  E0.88 INCH       BELTRAMI           MN   PUBLIC          

0125 PM     HAIL             2 NNW FOXHOME           46.30N 96.33W 
06/07/2007  E2.00 INCH       WILKIN             MN   PUBLIC          

0141 PM     TORNADO          1 WSW ELIZABETH         46.37N 96.15W 
06/07/2007                   OTTER TAIL         MN   TRAINED SPOTTER 

            PRELIMINARY REPORTS INDICATE THAT A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 
            JUST SOUTH OF COUNTY ROAD 10 TO THE WEST OF 
            ELIZABETH...AND TRACKED NNE FOR ABOUT 6 MILES TO AROUND 2
            MILES SOUTH OF ERHARD BY 150 PM CDT. SEVERAL TREES WERE 
            TORN DOWN AND A FEW POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED. ESTIMATED 
            WINDS AND DAMAGE ARE STILL BEING ASSESSED. SPOTTERS NOTED
            THAT THE TORNADO WAS UP AND DOWN QUITE A BIT ALONG THIS 
            PATH.

0205 PM     TORNADO          4 ESE PELICAN RAPIDS    46.55N 96.01W 
06/07/2007                   OTTER TAIL         MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT 

            PRELIMINARY REPORTS INDICATE THAT A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 
            NEAR THE SOUTHWEST END OF LIDA LAKE...AND TRACKED NNE FOR
            AROUND 8 MILES...CROSSING LIDA AND CRYSTAL LAKES...AND 
            LIFTING AROUND 5 MILES WEST OF VERGAS BY 220 PM CDT. A 
            DOZEN OR MORE HOMES WERE STRUCTURALLY DAMAGED ON LAKE 
            LIDA AND CRYSTAL LAKE. NUMEROUS POWER POLES AND TREES 
            WERE SNAPPED OFF. WIND ESTIMATES AND DAMAGE ARE STILL 
            BEING ASSESSED. REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE TORNADO WAS A 
            BLOCK OR MORE WIDE AT TIMES.

0212 PM     HAIL             5 E FERGUS FALLS        46.28N 95.96W 
06/07/2007  E0.75 INCH       OTTER TAIL         MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT 

0218 PM     HAIL             FRAZEE                  46.73N 95.70W 
06/07/2007  E0.88 INCH       BECKER             MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT 

            DIME TO NICKEL SIZED HAIL FELL FOR ABOUT 8 
            MINUTES...UNTIL ABOUT 226 PM CDT. 

0256 PM     HAIL             8 NE BEMIDJI            47.56N 94.76W 
06/07/2007  E0.88 INCH       BELTRAMI           MN   PUBLIC          

            HAIL CONTINUED FOR ABOUT 8 MINUTES...UNTIL 304 PM CDT.

0300 PM     HAIL             5 SSW PONSFORD          46.90N 95.42W 
06/07/2007  E0.75 INCH       BECKER             MN   PUBLIC          

0325 PM     HAIL             3 SSE BEAULIEU          47.30N 95.78W 
06/07/2007  E1.00 INCH       MAHNOMEN           MN   PUBLIC          

0335 PM     HAIL             3 S BLACKDUCK           47.68N 94.55W 
06/07/2007  E0.88 INCH       BELTRAMI           MN   TRAINED SPOTTER 

Rain Reports

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
925 PM CDT THU JUN 7 2007

HERE ARE SOME PRELIMINARY REPORTS FROM AUTOMATED AND MANUAL OBSERVATION POINTS. 

MORE INFORMATION WILL BE SENT AS IT IS RECEIVED. AN UPDATED LIST 
WILL BE AVAILABLE FRIDAY MORNING.

24 HOUR PRECIPITATION TOTALS AS OF 700 PM

LOCATION NAME              24 HR
                           TOTAL

US CUSTOMS AND BORDER 
PROTECTION ROSEAU 5 N      4.00 
GRAND FORKS AFB            3.30
ALVARADO ND RIVER SITE     3.05
HAYES LAKE STATE PARK MN   2.65  
WANNASKA MN                2.80
FINGAL 2SW ND              2.55
ALVARADO MN                2.44
ROSEAU RAWS MN             2.24
ARVILLA ND RIVER SITE      2.21
ROSEAU AIRPORT             2.17
RAWS AT BAUDETTE MN        2.13
WARROAD AIRPORT            2.12
SNAKE R ABOVE RADIUM MN    2.08
BAUDETTE AIRPORT           1.86
AGASSIZ NWR RAWS           1.79
AGASSIZ NWR CRN            1.71
RAWS AT FT TOTEN ND        1.68
HALLOCK MN                 1.65
GRAND FORKS NWS            1.60
GRAND FORKS AIRPORT        1.60
CARIBOU MN                 1.54
FLAG ISLAND MN             1.38
THIEF RIVER FALLS MN       1.29
THIEF RIVER FALLS MN DAM   1.26
RED LAKE FALLS             1.08
RAWS AT LAKE ITASCA        1.08
RAWS AT BEMIDJI MN         1.07
HOMME DAM  ND              1.06
BEMIDJI AIRPORT MN         1.06
RED LAKE FALLS MN          1.05
LITTLE PEMBINA RIVER
NEAR WALHALLA ND           1.05
FOSSTON MN AIRPORT         0.89
DEVILS LAKE ND AIRPORT     0.79
ADA MN                     0.78
SAUM MN                    0.74
MOORHEAD MN OBSERVER       0.72
FARGO ND AIRPORT           0.72
SHELLY MN                  0.70
PELICAN RAPIDS MN          0.66
MALUNG MN                  0.64
RAWS AT HAMPDEN ND         0.62
FELTON MN                  0.60
RAWS AT DETROIT LAKES MN   0.59
WASKISH MN                 0.50

RAWS ARE AUTOMATED WEATHER STATIONS COURTESY OF THE U.S. FISH AND 
WILDLIFE SERVICE AND DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

Tornadoes

Track of Tornadoes based on surface observations and storm surveys conducted by NOAA NWS.

Elizabeth -  EF1 Tornado

Damage in the Elizabeth area was rated EF1, indicating winds of 90-95 mph. Skywarn trained spotters reported that a tornado touched down just south of county road 10, less than a mile to the west of Elizabeth around 141 pm CDT, and tracked north-north east for about 6 miles. Spotters report that the tornado appeared to have crossed highway 59 between 2 and 3 miles north of Elizabeth, then continued north-north east to around 2 miles southeast of Erhard by 152 pm CDT. Several trees were reported to have been torn down and a few power poles were snapped. Spotters noted that the tornado was up and down quite a bit along this path. Photos indicate that this tornado was between 75 and 100 yards wide at times.

Lake Lida/Crystal Lake - EF2 Tornado
Damage in the Lake Lida and Crystal Lake area was rated EF2...indicating winds of 130-135 mph. Observers near Lake Lida reported that a tornado touched down near the southwest end of Lake Lida around 210 PM CDT, about 4 miles east-south east of Pelican Rapids, and tracked north-north east for nearly 7 miles. The tornado crossed Lake Lida hitting the Lake Lida Loop lakeside community around 220 pm CDT. The tornado then continued across Crystal Lake, and appears to have lifted around 5 miles west of Vergas by 225 pm CDT. A dozen or more homes were structurally damaged on the north shore of Lake Lida and off the north end of Crystal Lake. Numerous power poles and trees were snapped off, but no injuries have been reported. Reports and damage measurements indicate that this tornado was about 150 yards wide at times.

A Tornado Watch was in effect for the impacted areas from 1118 am CDT through 531 pm CDT. A Tornado Warning was in effect for western Otter Tail County from 138 pm CDT through 233 pm CDT. Updates to the warning were also issued at 146 pm CDT, 204 pm CDT, and 216 pm CDT as the storm progressed through northwest Otter Tail county. Tornado Warnings had been issued earlier in the afternoon for east central Richland County North Dakota and southern Wilkin County Minnesota, but no damage has yet been reported in those two counties.