Twin Cities, MN

Weather Forecast Office

Tornadoes and Severe Storms of August 29, 2024

Overview

**This information may still be updated if new information becomes available**

A well defined cold front associated with a strong upper level low produced widespread wind damage and some tornadoes throughout central and eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin on August 29th, 2024.

There were a number of downbursts, with some of the most significant downburst damage in Champlin, Anoka, and Cottage Grove. Some of the downburst winds ranged from 75 to 85 mph.

Preliminary storm reports from August 29, 2024. For the latest storm reports, please visit the Storm Prediction Center.

Tornado
Wind
Radar
Rainfall

Tornadoes:

Six tornadoes have been confirmed by the NWS Twin Cities. In Minnesota, there was one in Morrison County, near Pierz and in Lastrup. Another was in Anoka County just north of Andover. One more was in northern Anoka and southern Isanti counties, and another in Dakota County south of Hastings (which moved into far western Wisconsin). In Wisconsin, the tornado south of Hastings ended southeast of Prescott. Another started between River Falls and Beldenville, with the other near Wilson. Some path lengths may still be updated if we receive more information.

Overview of tornado tracks from August 29, 2024

Tornado - Andover
Anoka County

Date	29 August 2024
Time (Local)	4:26-4:29 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF1
Est. Peak Winds	90 mph
Path Length	3.6 miles
Max Width	250 yards
Summary: Tornado developed north of Andover in central Anoka County and continued north northeast 3.6 miles. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado - Bethel
Anoka and Isanti Counties

Date	29 August 2024
Time (Local)	4:32-4:43 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF1
Est. Peak Winds	95 mph
Path Length	9.7 miles
Max Width	250 yards
Summary: Tornado developed north of Oak Grove in Anoka County and continued northeast to 5 miles east southeast of Isanti in Isanti County. Trees were uprooted, two farm outbuildings were destroyed, and a pole barn sustained roof damage.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado - North of Miesville
Dakota, Goodhue, and Pierce Counties

Date

29 August 2024

Time (Local)

5:47-5:57 PM CDT

EF Rating

EF0

Est. Peak Winds

80 mph

Path Length

7.9 miles

Max Width

150 yards

Summary:

Tornado developed south of Hastings at Bellwood Oaks Golf Course, uprooting several trees, then it continued northeast. A narrow path of sporadic tree damage occurred along the track. The last damage in Minnesota was on Blackbird Trail, near Mud Hen Lake. It crossed a small section of northern Goodhue County. More damage occurred just across the Mississippi River, in Pierce County, where a trailer was flipped and dozens of trees were downed or broken. The tornado dissipated about 5 miles southeast of Prescott, Wisconsin. Its path length in Minnesota was 7.1 miles, followed by 0.8 miles in Wisconsin.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado - Near Beldenville
Pierce County

Date	29 August 2024
Time (Local)	6:06 - 6:15PM CDT
EF Rating	EF1
Est. Peak Winds	90 mph
Path Length	6.6 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Summary: Tornado developed 2.9 miles WNW of Beldenville and uprooted or broke limbs off of a couple hundred trees. It also hit one house, removing part of the roof, resulting in the collapse of an outer wall.

Track Map

EF-Scale

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado - I-94 in near Wilson
St. Croix County

Date	29 August 2024
Time (Local)	6:30 - 6:33 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF0
Est. Peak Winds	75 mph
Path Length	1.7 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Summary: Brief tornado began south of I-94 in western St. Croix County and moved northeast, crossing the interstate. It broke or uprooted several dozen trees. The tornado was filmed on a westward looking traffic camera at I-94 and Hwy 128.

Track Map

EF-Scale

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado - Lastrup
Morrison County

Date	29 August 2024
Time (Local)	3:35 - 3:43 PM CDT
EF Rating	EF1
Est. Peak Winds	90 mph
Path Length	7.5 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Summary: The tornado tore off most of the roofs of two barns west and northwest of Pierz. It continued northeast to Lastrup, where it knocked down dozens of trees and tore off half of the roof of an outbuilding. Drone video showed a convergent damage pattern

Track Map

EF-Scale

Downloadable KMZ File

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

Wind:

There was extensive wind damage that occurred. There were a number of downbursts, with some of the most significant downburst damage in Champlin, Anoka, Cottage Grove, and many other areas. Some of the downburst winds ranged from 75 to 85 mph. This event affected a lot of the same areas as the storms of August 26/27, further exasperating power outages and response efforts.


Large tree downed in Eden Prairie. Photo credit to Jay Wood.	Large tree snapped near its base, blocking a road in Willmar, MN. Photo credit to @gopherhockeysi on X.	Several large trees were downed and a pontoon boat and cover flipped near Weaver Lake in Maple Grove, MN. Photo credit to Andrew Siffert.	Large camper trailer tipped and blocking the road near 229th Avenue and Holly Street within St. Francis, MN.

Radar

Hourly timesteps of Base Reflectivity and Base Velocity as the storms developed over western Minnesota and travelled east into western Wisconsin.


Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 2PM CDT. Scattered storms began to develop during the afternoon over parts of western MN along the frontal boundary.	Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 3PM CDT. Storms began to congeal into a line, especially across central MN.	Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 4PM CDT. Winds intensified over Carver County as the line began to push into the Twin Cities Metro.

Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 5PM CDT. The line intensified with strong winds stretching from Isanti County south towards northern Dakota County.	Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 6PM CDT. Overall strength of the winds weakened as the line moved into Wisconsin, however there was still a risk of embedded tornados along the line.	Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 7PM CDT. The line intensified again, resulting in widespread wind damage in Dunn, Pierce, and St. Croix Counties.

Base Reflectivity (left) and Base Velocity (right) at 8PM CDT. The line began to weaken again as it moved further into Wisconsin.

Rain Reports

The line of storms move quickly through western and central MN, limiting rainfall totals. Storm motion slow quite a bit as the line moved into Wisconsin, resulting in pockets of 2"+ of rain. Parts of southern Polk County received over 3" of rain, resulting in areas of flash flooding in some cities.

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