1967 Iowa–Minnesota tornado outbreak

1967 Iowa–Minnesota tornado outbreak

A home leveled to its foundation in Waseca, Minnesota
Type Tornado outbreak
Duration April 30, 1967
Tornadoes confirmed 21
Max rating1 F4 tornado
Duration of tornado outbreak2 2 hours, 5 minutes
Damage $9 million dollars
Casualties 13 deaths, ≥80 injuries
Areas affected Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

2Time from first tornado to last tornado

The 1967 Iowa–Minnesota tornado outbreak was a tornado outbreak that affected portions of Iowa and southern Minnesota on Sunday, April 30, 1967. The outbreak spawned a total of 21 tornadoes, resulting in 13 deaths and 80 injuries. Local area residents refer to the day as "Black Sunday."

Meteorological synopsis

By mid-afternoon on April 30, a surface low pressure area was centered in Pierre, South Dakota. Several fronts stretched from the low pressure area with a stationary front located from north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota to near LaCrosse, Wisconsin. A warm front extended from south of Sioux Falls to near Des Moines, Iowa and St. Louis, Missouri. Between the two fronts, air temperatures had warmed into the 60s and low 70s and dew points in the 60s. Winds were quite strong in the area, with speeds from 15 to 25 mph from the east-southeast. By early evening, the warm front had moved to near the Minnesota-Iowa border. By 6:00 pm CDT, tornadoes began to develop along and just north of the warm front as it moved northward through northern Iowa and into southern Minnesota.

The towns of Albert Lea and Waseca were hardest hit.

Tornado table

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 4 10 3 4 0 21
F# Location County Time (UTC) Path length Damage
South Dakota
F1 NW of De Smet Kingsbury 2115 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
Iowa
F2 W of Eagle Grove Webster 2150 6.8 miles
(10.9 km)
F2 E of Estherville Emmet 2200 8.2 miles
(13.1 km)
F2 Emmetsburg to W of Ringsted Palo Alto, Emmet 2210 14 miles
(22.4 km)		 Struck the community of Halfa, tearing the roofs off of several homes. Barns were destroyed as well.[1]
F2 Crystal Lake Hancock, Winnebago 2230 4.3 miles
(6.9 km)		 Buildings were damaged or destroyed on 8 farms. 3 farms lost every building besides the house.[1]
F2 NE of Gruver Emmet 2233 1 miles
(1.6 km)		 One barn was destroyed and several others were damaged.[1]
F3 Clear Lake area Cerro Gordo 2305 7.7 miles
(12.3 km)		 One house was torn apart. Farm machinery and barns were destroyed as well.[1]
F2 Fort Madison area Lee 2320 2.3 miles
(3.7 km)
F4 NE of Manly to NE of Carpenter Worth 2328 13.3 miles
(21.3 km)
F3 S of Kensett, IA to N of London, MN Worth, IA, Freeborn, MN 2330 17.2 miles
(27.5 km)		 About a half dozen farms were extensively damaged, with at least two farm homes destroyed.
F4 E of Northwood, IA to E of Myrtle, MN Worth, IA Freeborn, MN 0020 7.6 miles
(12.2 km)		 This tornado destroyed about 10 farms, leveling at least three of them in near-F5 fashion. Ten other farms, mostly in Iowa, were extensively damaged.
F1 NW of Littleton Buchanan 0100 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F1 NW of Montezuma Poweshiek 0100 0.1 miles
(0.16 km)
F2 SE of Epworth Dubuque 0300 2 miles
(3.2 km)
Minnesota
F2 E of Waseca Waseca 0000 9.2 miles
(14.7 km)		 Destroyed barns were noted west of Lemond and Meriden.
F3 NW of Alden Freeborn and Waseca 0005 14 miles
(22.4 km)		 2 deaths - Farm damage was near-F4 in the first part of the path. Homes and barns were destroyed.
F1 E of Ellendale Steele 0005 0.2 miles
(0.32 km)
F4 N of Twin Lakes to Owatonna Freeborn and Steele 0023 38.7 miles
(61.9 km)		 5 deaths - Farms were leveled at a half dozen locations along the path. There was $2,000,000 damage in Albert Lea, where 26 homes were destroyed and 64 were badly damaged.
F4 W of Hartland to NE of Waseca Freeborn and Waseca 0052 20.1 miles
(32.2 km)		 6 deaths - This tornado followed Hwy-67 into Waseca, destroying or damaging farm buildings on both sides of the road. It cut a four-block-wide swath in town, destroying 16 homes, six of which were leveled, and 25 more were heavily damaged.
F2 SE of Austin Mower 0115 3.8 miles
(6.1 km)		 At least two barns and one home were unroofed and torn apart.
F2 E of Marion Olmsted 0210 6.8 miles
(10.9 km)		 A trailer and a barn were destroyed.
Source: Tornado History Project - April 30, 1967 Storm Data

See also

Surface map for April 30, 1967, 1 AM EST, the morning prior to the tornado outbreak.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Grazulis, Thomas P (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
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