What the record says
On 18 September 1997, a tornado touched down near Lastrup, Minnesota. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 17 miles long and up to 800 yards wide, rated F3 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 1 person and injured 1.
- F3Fujita rating
- 1death
- 1injury
- 17 mipath length
- 800 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 46.07, -94.05 and the end point at 46.08, -93.67 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Minnesota
- Manhattan Beach, Minnesota tornado6 August 1969, F4, 12 deaths, 70 injuries, 32.3 miles long
- Fargo, North Dakota tornado20 June 1957, F5, 10 deaths, 103 injuries, 52.4 miles long
- Garvin, Minnesota tornado13 June 1968, F5, 9 deaths, 150 injuries, 9.1 miles long
- Hartland, Minnesota tornado30 April 1967, F4, 6 deaths, 22 injuries, 20.1 miles long
- Minneapolis, Minnesota tornado6 May 1965, F4, 6 deaths, 158 injuries, 17.3 miles long
- Hollandale, Minnesota tornado10 May 1953, F2, 6 deaths, 3 injuries, 6.9 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1997
- Jarrell, Texas tornado27 May 1997, F5, 27 deaths, 12 injuries, 5.1 miles long
- Little Rock, Arkansas tornado1 March 1997, F4, 10 deaths, 40 injuries, 14 miles long
- Okolona, Arkansas tornado1 March 1997, F4, 6 deaths, 100 injuries, 27 miles long
- Little Rock, Arkansas tornado1 March 1997, F4, 5 deaths, 180 injuries, 11 miles long
- Dyersburg, Tennessee tornado1 March 1997, F4, 1 death, 15 injuries, 15 miles long
All tornadoes of 1997 · Minnesota tornado history · All notable tornadoes