What the record says
On 5 July 1978, a tornado touched down near Gary, Minnesota. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 57.5 miles long and up to 400 yards wide, rated F2 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 4 people and injured 44.
- F2Fujita rating
- 4deaths
- 44injuries
- 57.5 mipath length
- 400 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Clearwater County, Minnesota
- Mahnomen County, Minnesota
- Norman County, Minnesota
- Polk County, Minnesota
The start point was at 47.33, -96.35 and the end point at 47.75, -95.25 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Minnesota
- Manhattan Beach, Minnesota tornado6 August 1969, F4, 12 deaths, 70 injuries, 32.3 miles long
- Fargo, North Dakota tornado20 June 1957, F5, 10 deaths, 103 injuries, 52.4 miles long
- Garvin, Minnesota tornado13 June 1968, F5, 9 deaths, 150 injuries, 9.1 miles long
- Hartland, Minnesota tornado30 April 1967, F4, 6 deaths, 22 injuries, 20.1 miles long
- Minneapolis, Minnesota tornado6 May 1965, F4, 6 deaths, 158 injuries, 17.3 miles long
- Hollandale, Minnesota tornado10 May 1953, F2, 6 deaths, 3 injuries, 6.9 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1978
- Lyndon, Kansas tornado17 June 1978, F1, 16 deaths, 3 injuries, 7.3 miles long
- Rhodes, Iowa tornado16 September 1978, F3, 6 deaths, 45 injuries, 31.8 miles long
- Elgin, North Dakota tornado4 July 1978, F4, 5 deaths, 35 injuries, 26 miles long
- Monticello, Mississippi tornado18 April 1978, F4, 4 deaths, 31 injuries, 19.1 miles long
- Westmoreland, Kansas tornado31 May 1978, F3, 3 deaths, 1 injury, 37 miles long
All tornadoes of 1978 · Minnesota tornado history · All notable tornadoes