Summary of the April 13, 2026 Hail and Tornadoes

Tornadoes

At least four tornadoes occurred across south central Minnesota.  The first tornado, north-northwest of Truman, has been rated EF-U (unknown intensity since it didn't hit anything).  The tornado between Truman and Amboy has been rated EF-1.  The tornado west of Elmore has been given a *preliminary* rating of EF-0, and the rating for the Matawan/Hartland tornado has not yet been determined.  We are continuing to work closely with local Emergency Management and others to determine the official tracks and ratings of each tornado.

• The first tornado, 3 miles north-northwest of Truman, was caught on video by several storm chasers. Path length was approximately 2/3 mile and it lasted from 6:12 p.m. to 6:13 p.m. CDT.  The maximum width is estimated at 25 yards.

• The second tornado began two miles north of Truman and tracked east to about 5 miles west of Amboy.  Ground contact began at 6:15 p.m. CDT and the tornado dissipated at approximately 6:40 PM after being mostly on the ground for 8.5 miles.  The rating is EF-1 with estimated maximum winds of 90 mph. The tornado mostly moved across open fields, but it did hit four houses and some groves of trees.  One house had garage doors blown out, patio lights blown out of the soffits, sporadic shingle damage, while outbuildings had shed doors blown out along with some other damage.  Another farm had a small building lifted off the foundation and dropped down 30 yards away. One other location had an enclosed trailer picked up and deposited across the field. The tornado was on the ground most of the way, but there were three separate times when it did not make ground contact for a minute or two.  The same parent circulation, however, persisted along the entire path; Storm Data allows this to be documented as one tornado.  This determination has been based on many, many videos from storm chasers as well as damage photos provided by the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office. It is certainly possible that this may change if new information becomes available.  The maximum width is estimated at 200 yards and video showed it to be a multiple vortex tornado at times.

• Farther south around 7:20 PM, a tornado was caught on video by at least two storm chasers two miles west of Elmore, MN.  It hit a farm, with one building losing 6-10 tin panels from its roof and garage doors blown in. The preliminary rating is EF-0 with winds of 80 mph, but this may change if new information becomes available.

• At approximately 8:05 PM, a fourth tornado was reported in northwest Freeborn County, about 5.5 miles northwest of Hartland, MN. It has been reported that a barn, machine shed, and other outbuildings were completely destroyed, with metal being blown over one mile away. This tornado has not been rated yet, pending examination of photos and video.

Multiple reports from storm chasers, fire dept, and law enforcement approximately 7 miles WSW of Amboy, MN.	Video of tornado on ground approximately 6 miles west of Elmore, MN.	Report relayed from a trained spotter of a tornado 3 miles SE of Matawan, MN.

Hail

Many storms from this event produced considerably large hail with varied diameters from quarter size up to just smaller than softball. Of the 50+ hail measurements our office received, five reports consisted of hailstones at or greater than 3" diameter. The largest hail stone measured at 3.5" diameter in Lake Crystal, MN (Blue Earth County). The second largest was 3.3" diameter in Dennison, MN (Goodhue County). The third largest hail stones at 3" diameter were measured near Faribault, MN (Rice County) and near Morristown, MN (Steele County). 

3" diameter hail measurement south of Hanska, MN (Brown Co). Courtesy of Tammy Weller	Multiple large hailstones in Faribault, MN. Courtesy of Annelisa Brown	2" diameter hail measurement in St. Peter, MN. Courtesy of Jamison Willis	Plate of large hailstones collected near Urland Church along Goodhue Cty 9. Courtesy of Jim Braaten

Photo of hail accumulation near Lake City, MN (Goodhue Co). Courtesy of Blaine Thomas	Hail accumulation in Rice Co.  Courtesy of Rice Co Emergency Management	Hail damage to rear windshield of a car near St. Peter, MN and Cleveland, MN.  Courtesy of Rachel Sirek Olmanson	Photo of hail accumulation near Nerstrand, MN. Courtesy of Marcia Cronce

Heavy Rain

Thunderstorms also consisted of heavy downpours and rainfall amounts exceeding between 1 to 3 inches of rainfall. In south-central Eau Claire County, WI, localized flooding caused water to flow over a roadway just north of Eleva, WI. 

Map of the storm total rainfall from this event.	Water over Lowes Creek Rd just west of STH93 in south central Eau Claire Co. Courtesy of Timothy McCaughey

Storm Reports

Below is a map of the local storm reports associated with this event. More information pertaining to each report can be found by clicking: IEM :: LSR from NWS MPX.

Map of the local storm reports across southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Courtesy of IEM LSR App