Overview
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A strong low pressure system brought a round of severe weather to the Midwest, including near the Minnesota and Iowa state line. A total of 5 tornadoes have been confirmed in southern MN, with 3 being being characterized as EFUs and 2 as EF1s. Three tornadoes were within the NWS Twin Cities forecasting region: Tornado 1: A short rope tornado was reported around 7:12pm northwest of Fairmont north of mile marker 99 along I-90. The tornado was confirmed by law enforcement and a trained spotter and has a preliminary rating of EFU (unknown damage). Tornado 2: The combined evidence of a photo report, damage to several out buildings, and swirls in a farm field confirm a tornado about 2 miles SW of Conger, MN in Freeborn County. The tornado occurred around 10:14-10:20pm and has maximum wind speed estimates of around 105 mph. Tornado 3: Tornadic damage was confirmed to several trees and a few structures near US HWY 65 and 130th Street about 2 miles SE of Glenville, MN. The occurred around 10:27-10:32pm and has maximum win speed estimates of around 90 mph. |
.gif) KMPX Radar Reflectivity with Severe Thunderstorm Warnings (yellow boxes) and Tornado Warnings (red boxes) overlayed from May 17-18th, 2026. |
In addition to the tornadoes, there were reports of wind damage across southern MN. Minor structural damage and scattered tree damage suggest wind speeds around 60 to 75 mph were likely tied to the thunderstorms. Visit the SPC Storm Reports page to view all of the severe reports from May 17th, 2026.
Tornadoes
Select a tornado from the table to zoom into the track and view more information. The default table view is limited to 8 tracks, but can be scrolled by a mouse wheel or dynamically expanded. Additionally, the table can fill the entire window by clicking the small circular expanding arrow icon at the very top right of the table and returned to its original size by clicking the button again. The side information panel that opens over the map can be closed using the "X" on the upper right corner of the pop-up. Zoom into the map and click damage points to see detailed information and pictures from the surveys.
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NOTE: times shown below are local to your device's time zone. |
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 |
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| Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U) | |||||
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