ST. PAUL — The Minnesota weather record has been corrected to show that the title for the earliest tornado ever recorded in the state goes to a tiny twister that struck March 6 in Faribault County.
The National Weather Service says a recent damage survey confirmed that a weak EF-1 tornado developed northwest of Bricelyn and traveled about 10 miles before lifting west of the Freeborn County line in southern Minnesota.
The tornado snapped off power poles and caused damage to trees and buildings, including at a campground on Rice Lake, near Wells.
The weather service previously confirmed two other EF-1 tornadoes struck between 5:30 and 6 p.m. March 6 in Freeborn and Sherburne counties during an outbreak of unseasonable severe weather.
But the Faribault County tornado was on the ground from 5:04 to 5:15 p.m., making it the new record holder for the earliest in the year a tornado has occurred in Minnesota.
No one was injured by the tornadoes, which packed peak winds of 90-110 mph.
The weather service said it did not receive any reports of damage until several days after the Faribault County tornado occurred and subsequent heavy snow across the area did not allow for a damage survey to be undertaken for another few days.
Until the March 6 outbreak, the earliest tornado on record was a 1968 twister that struck March 18 near Truman, also in southern Minnesota.
by St. Paul Pioneer Press
March 22, 2017
