National Weather Service reports short rope tornado southwest of Mankato — Tornado Near Me
A short rope tornado was reported southwest of Mankato on Sunday evening as a tornado near me search could have pointed readers to Truman, Lewiston and Northrop in the storm path. The National Weather Service said the tornado was on the ground for a minute before lifting, while the storm kept showing signs of rotation.
Martin County Warning
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for Martin County until 7:45 p.m. Sunday. Areas affected included Truman, Lewiston and Northrop, all southwest of Mankato, after there had already been multiple tornado warnings near the city.
Ian Leonard, FOX 9 chief meteorologist, tracked a bumpy night of severe weather in southern Minnesota, and the warning line stretched into a broader watch for parts of the region. As of 3:30 p.m. Sunday, a Tornado Watch was already in place for Cottonwood and Jackson counties until 10 p.m.
Southern Minnesota Watch
The Weather Service later issued a Tornado Watch until 1 a.m. Monday for portions of southern and southwestern Minnesota. The watch did not include the Twin Cities metro, even as thunderstorms were expected to move into western and southern Minnesota around dinner time Sunday and push east.
The storm setup covered western, central and southern Minnesota at a Level 2 Slight risk, while far southwestern Minnesota was at a Level 3 Enhanced risk. Northern Minnesota was under a marginal risk while crews battled wildfires near Breezy Point and Two Harbors.
Storms Before Monday
Strong to severe storms were expected to reach the Twin Cities metro sometime after 10 p.m. and clear out before the Monday morning commute. Jared Piepenburg, a FOX 9 meteorologist, was part of the coverage as the evening threat moved across the state.
For people in southern Minnesota, the immediate change was the warning and the short-lived tornado near Mankato’s southwest side. The storm still carried rotation after the tornado lifted, so the first practical step was to stay with Weather Service alerts through early Monday.
