This past Sunday, March 29 will go down in the weather history
book.  During a period of more than 5 hours, beginning about
2:30 pm the National Weather Service issued 22 severe thunder-
storm warnings and 12 tornado warnings across southern Minnesota.
Damage surveys show that seven separate tornadoes were spawned 
from a large supercell thunderstorm which tracked from Nobles
County NE through Rice and Dakota Counties.  There were also 
numerous reports of hail.

Using the Fujita Scale, which is based on the types of damages
left in the path of a tornado, National Weather Service 
personnel have determined that two F-3 tornadoes (wind speeds
from 158- 206 mph) caused the severe damages in Comfrey 
(Brown County) and St Peter (Nicollet County).  The other five
tornadoes were of lesser intensity.  

Records show only six cases of documented March tornadoes in
Minnesota, but the ones on Sunday were by far the strongest and 
most destructive. In fact, the total economic consequences 
(insurance claims, FEMA disaster relief, state aide, and 
infrastructure recovery and repair) will likely equal the
previous record amounts in the state from tornadic activity.  

Like the flood disaster of 1997, the victims of this disaster 
must face the psychological consequences and challenges of 
materially losing so much, but rebuilding their homes and 
their community with perhaps a renewed vision. 

-Mark Seeley.
Extension Climatologist