Tornado outbreak of August 6, 1969


The tornado outbreak of August 6, 1969, also known as the 1969 Minnesota tornado outbreak and the 1969 North Woods tornado outbreak, was a tornado outbreak that affected portions of north central Minnesota on August 6, 1969. There were 13 confirmed tornadoes from the outbreak, 15 people were killed and 109 were injured. To date, the outbreak remains the deadliest on record in the North Woods region of Minnesota.

Background

Very warm, humid, summertime air had pushed into central and southern Minnesota on August 6, 1969. Minneapolis recorded a high temperature of with dew points near. Meanwhile, strong upper-level winds over northern Minnesota and an approaching cold front from the west added the needed ingredient for the strong storms. Two distinct thunderstorms formed approximately apart and tracked east-northeastward across Minnesota at. These parallel storms generated thirteen tornadoes, killing fifteen people and injuring 109.
The first tornado of the day, rated F0, touched down at 1:15 p.m. CDT in Beltrami County. The main tornado event started about three hours later in Cass County when an F3 tornado touched down southwest of Backus, injuring four people. The most damaging tornado of the outbreak touched down at 4:48 p.m. CDT in Crow Wing County. It achieved F4 strength, traveling through Crow Wing, Cass and Aitkin counties. The area around Outing was especially hard hit by this tornado, where eleven deaths and forty injuries occurred on the shores of Roosevelt Lake.
Several more strong tornadoes touched down over the next two hours, killing one person near Jacobson and two people near Two Harbors. Damage and casualties were limited however because most of the twisters struck rural areas.

Daily statistics

August 6 event