We all know that tornadoes are fairly rare in Northern Minnesota, and this graphic from the National Weather Service in Duluth shows us how rare they are.

This map shows with colored lines where tornadoes have been reported or verified in Northern Minnesota, the different colors represent the strength of the tornado and its path, as you can see there hasn't been anything stronger than an F4 tornado in the area.

The National Weather Service admits that data from before the 1970s isn't as robust as it is today, and that with limited roads and vast forests, there are a handful of tornadoes that happen in the middle of a forest and no one may know that it even happened.

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In the comments the National Weather Service shared some additional images and details, including a small EF0 tornado that happened May 26th, 1958 that ripped through the Woodland neighborhood between St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota Duluth.

You may have heard that Lake Superior acts as a "shield" against tornadoes, the National Weather Service says, "The anecdotes about Lake Superior providing protection have a number of complex variables and in general the statement is false." They say not to rely on the lake for protection, while there may not be a tornado, straight line winds do happen and can cause the damage comparable to an EF0 or EF1 tornado.

 

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