Minnesota weather: Several possible tornadoes reported during Monday night's storms

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Several possible tornadoes were reported during storms that pushed across southern Minnesota on Monday evening. 

What we know

A strong but compact storm rolled across Minnesota on Monday. It brought a heavy band of rain on the northern side of the system that dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain in many areas right along Interstate 94, including much of the northern Twin Cities metro. But with warmer temperatures and even some early-day sunshine, energy was able to build in southern Minnesota enough to pop much stronger storms.

There were multiple tornado warnings and several possible tornadoes reported between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Aug. 5. 

While the overall damage was limited to just a few isolated locations, 10 preliminary reports of tornadoes were recorded in the evening in four different counties. These include the cities of Darfur, St. James, Janesville, Winnebago, Wells, and Twin Lakes. None of these have been confirmed yet. The National Weather Service will survey the damage on Tuesday to determine if they were tornadoes or just funnel clouds and how strong they were. 

It's unlikely that all of these are actual tornadoes. Even if they are, many tornado reports are likely "doubles," meaning multiple people are reporting the same tornado from different views and locations. From what FOX 9's Cody Matz can tell, matching radar data, eyewitness reports and videos, he would expect at least two tornadoes to be confirmed, but likely no more than a half-dozen.

Storm reports after Mondays severe weather. 

The severe storms caused trees to topple in Wells, with at least one tree falling on a home in the city. Wells also got a lot of rain, with flash flooding reported. 

In Janesville, a home's garage door was blown in during the storm. Straight-line winds can also cause this type of damage. 

Dig deeper

Monday night's storms come after an EF-1 tornado was confirmed in Melrose, Minnesota, on Saturday night. The storm had wind speeds of up to 95 mph. Damage was reported at Meadowlark Country Club, including sending a golf ball into a tree trunk. 

However, these storms come during a very wet but not-so-severe year. So far this year, 10 tornadoes have been confirmed in Minnesota. Minnesota typically averages 40 tornadoes per year, so Minnesota is behind average. July is typically the busiest month for tornadoes — only one was confirmed in July 2024.