Weather Service confirms seventh tornado in Freeborn County
Published 8:25 pm Thursday, December 30, 2021
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The National Weather Service has confirmed a seventh tornado struck a southeastern Minnesota county during wind storms earlier this month.
The Albert Lea Tribune reported Wednesday that the weather service on Tuesday confirmed a seventh tornado hit Freeborn County on the night of Dec. 15.
The weather service rated the twister an EF-0 on the Extended Fujita Scale. The tornado packed winds that topped out at 80 mph. It was on the ground for almost three miles and damaged trees and farm buildings and tossed hay bales across a road.
Twenty tornadoes have now been confirmed statewide.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale is a numerical scale that measures a tornado’s wind speed and destructive power. An EF-2 packs winds ranging from 113 mph to 157 mph. An EF-1 can produce winds between 73 mph and 112 mph. An EF-0 can produce winds ranging from 40 mph to 72 mph, according to the National Weather Service.