TL;DR

A tornado was reported 3 miles west of Laporte, Minnesota on Friday afternoon at 1947 UTC (2:47 PM CDT), confirmed by a storm chaser. The same system and scattered severe weather across the nation produced 65 hail reports and 55 wind reports spanning 14 states, with the most intense activity concentrated in Minnesota and the Southeast.

What happened in Minnesota

At 1947 UTC on June 19, 2026, a storm chaser reported a tornado 1–2 miles east-southeast of their location on Minnesota Highway 200 between Lake George and Laporte. The National Weather Service in Grand Forks (FGF) logged the report as "3 W Laporte," placing the tornado in north-central Minnesota's lake country.

No EF rating has been assigned yet. Preliminary tornado reports typically receive damage surveys within 24 to 48 hours, and the NWS will publish an official rating once the survey is complete.

The tornado was part of a broader severe weather event that swept across Minnesota through the afternoon and evening. Between 2030 and 2229 UTC, the state logged at least 30 hail reports, many of them quarter-sized (1.00 inch) or larger. The Twin Cities metro bore the brunt of the hail threat, with reports from Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Roseville, and Fridley.

The largest hail in Minnesota reached 1.75 inches (golf ball size) in Roseville at 2229 UTC, and a separate report from the same city minutes earlier noted "a lot of hail falling… the ground is fully covered with hail." One resident in Fridley reported "pea to quarter sized hail" with "minor tree damage from several minutes of hail falling."

Severe weather across 14 states

Friday's severe weather was geographically scattered, with 14 states reporting at least one severe weather event:

  • Minnesota led the nation with 1 tornado, at least 30 hail reports, and 1 wind report.
  • Kansas saw isolated severe storms with hail reports including a quarter-sized (1.00 inch) report 9 miles southwest of Westfall.
  • New Mexico logged one of the day's largest hail reports: mostly quarter to ping pong ball size hail in San Jose, with a few stones reaching 2.25 inches.
  • Wisconsin reported hail 8 miles west-northwest of Milltown.
  • Southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina) accounted for the majority of the 55 wind reports, most involving downed trees and power lines. No tornado reports emerged from the Southeast despite the widespread convection.

The wind reports from the Southeast were largely associated with a loosely organized cluster of storms that moved across the lower Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast states through the afternoon. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee (TAE) received multiple reports of trees down across the Florida Panhandle, including locations near Chipley, De Funiak Springs, and Marianna. Leon County Emergency Management reported several trees down in the Tallahassee metro area between 1859 and 1938 UTC.

One measured wind gust of 65 mph was recorded at the Onslow Bay Buoy (41064) off the North Carolina coast at 1453 UTC.

Context: A quiet tornado day in an active week

Friday's single tornado report stands in sharp contrast to the preceding days. On June 18, VORTEX reported two tornadoes and 418 wind reports. Recent severe weather has been widespread across the nation.

A single tornado day is not unusual in June, but the geographic spread of severe weather—14 states with hail or wind reports—reflects the transitional synoptic pattern across the continental United States. The Storm Prediction Center's Day 1 outlook for June 20 highlights an Enhanced Risk across parts of the central Plains, where "large to very large hail, severe winds (some 75+ mph), and a few tornadoes are possible" later today.

Friday's Minnesota tornado occurred in a region with a history of June severe weather, though tornadoes in the north-central lake country are less common than in the state's southern and western counties. The Laporte area sits in Hubbard County, where tornadoes have been documented but are infrequent compared to the I-35 corridor farther south.

What this means for severe weather awareness

Even on days without a high-end severe weather outlook, isolated tornadoes can and do occur. Friday's tornado near Laporte was reported by a storm chaser, underscoring the value of ground truth in confirming tornadoes that may not produce widespread damage or affect populated areas.

For residents in areas with severe thunderstorm warnings, the threat is real regardless of whether a tornado watch is in effect. Hail up to 2.25 inches—as reported in New Mexico—can cause significant property damage, injure people caught outdoors, and shatter vehicle windshields. Quarter-sized hail, which fell across much of the Twin Cities metro, is large enough to dent cars and damage roofs.

The 55 wind reports, most involving downed trees, are a reminder that severe thunderstorm winds can block roads, down power lines, and create hazards even in the absence of a tornado. Many of Friday's wind reports came from county emergency management and 911 call centers, indicating that the public recognized the threat and reported damage promptly.

Looking ahead

The Storm Prediction Center has issued an Enhanced Risk for parts of the central Plains for Saturday, June 20, with a Slight Risk extending into Sunday and Monday across portions of the Plains, Midwest, and Ohio Valley. The active severe weather pattern that has characterized much of June 2026 shows no signs of letting up.

For those in the Enhanced Risk area today, the threats include large to very large hail (2+ inches in some cases), severe winds of 75+ mph, and a few tornadoes. The SPC outlook notes that "some risk for a few tornadoes should also exist, mainly late this afternoon into the evening with either persistent supercells or embedded within clusters as 0-1 km SRH increases in tandem with the low-level jet."

If you live in an area with a severe weather threat, make sure you have multiple ways to receive warnings. Outdoor sirens may not be audible indoors, and third-party weather apps are silenced by Do Not Disturb, though Wireless Emergency Alerts for tornado warnings still break through on most phones.

VORTEX is a free web app at vortexintel.app that monitors severe weather nationwide. Pro ($4.99/month) places phone calls to your phone when a tornado or flash flood warning is issued for a location you care about — calls can ring through Do Not Disturb once you enable Emergency Bypass for the number, unlike most third-party app notifications.