EF-1 tornado in Cotton Thursday; fresh Canadian breezes by Sunday

Storm survey teams from the Duluth NWS office confirmed damage from Thursday’s tornado near Cotton and Canyon in St. Louis County north of Duluth.

They rated the tornado EF-1 with 105 mph winds. The tornado was on the ground for 13 minutes and covered about 6 miles.

Here are more details from the storm survey from the Duluth NWS office.

..Canyon/Cotton Tornado... Rating: EF1 Estimated Peak Wind: 105 mph

Path Length /statute/: 5.9 miles Path Width /maximum/: 200.0 yards

Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0

Start Date: 09/19/2024 Start Time: 05:05 PM CDT Start Location: 4 N Canyon / St. Louis County / MN Start Lat/Lon: 47.0981 / -92.4726

End Date: 09/19/2024 End Time: 05:18 PM CDT End Location: 2 E Cotton / St. Louis County / MN End Lat/Lon: 47.1741 / -92.4182

Survey Summary: A supercell thunderstorm formed halfway between Meadowlands and Canyon, MN between 4:35 to 4:40 PM on Thursday September 19, 2024. As the strong thunderstorm continued to show potential for producing a tornado, the National Weather Service office in Duluth, MN issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning at 4:44 PM for this storm. The strong storm moved eastward over unpopulated marshes immediately north of Lake Nichols Road about 4 miles north-northwest of Canyon, MN by 5:00 PM.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for this storm at 4:55 PM as early signs of tornadic development appeared on radar, and a short time later a tornado was confirmed by trained spotters and law enforcement. Visible tree damage from the tornado, estimated to have begun at 5:05 PM CDT, was first observed on the west side of US Highway 53 about 4.5 miles south of Cotton, MN with pine trees snapped at the base. The tornado continued to move northeastward to uproot trees along Three Lakes Road about one-half mile east of the U.S. Highway 53 intersection.

The storm began to move more north-northeastward so the tornado track shifted more northward with the most widespread surveyed damage seen along Bug Creek Road about 2.5 miles east-southeast of Cotton, MN. Over 50 pine trees and numerous clusters of aspen trees were observed to be snapped at the base and/or uprooted, estimated to have occurred at around 5:15 PM. A few still-standing pine trees had metal sheets lofted and wrapped around them. Minor to moderate structure damage was reported by two property owners along Bug Creek Road before the tornado passed northward over the Whiteface River.

Towards 5:18 PM, the tornado began to weaken and finally lifted off the ground. The last uprooted trees, 4 aspen, were last observed at the intersection of Comstock Lake Road and Melrude Road 2.7 miles east of Cotton, MN. In total, the tornado was on the ground for a total of 5.9 miles and around 13 minutes. The damage rating from the NWS Duluth Storm Survey team resulted in an EF-1 rating with winds estimated at 105 mph. There were a total of 2 Tornado Warning in effect from 4:55 PM to 5:45 PM for this tornadic supercell thunderstorm.

EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories: EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph EF4...Violent...166 to 200 mph EF5...Violent...>200 mph

Cool front ahead

A cool front blows through Minnesota this weekend. A few isolated showers or thunderstorms are possible on Saturday, but most of the weekend hours look dry.

Highs Saturday will run from the 80s south to 60s northwest.

Sunday brings a fresh north Canadian breeze. Temperatures will run much cooler than what we’ve become accustomed to with our extended summer weather pattern. Highs in the 60s will feel like sweater weather!

Most of next week looks sunny and pleasantly cooler with highs in the 70s. The normal high and low in the Twin Cities by next week are 70 and 51.

Several forecast models suggest a powerful hurricane could reach the Gulf Coast later next week.

Stay tuned.