A tornado near Rochester, Minnesota, on April 17, 2026. (Photo/Sean Kelly, NWS)
LA CROSSE, Wis. (CBS Minnesota/KFGO) – Officials say more than 100 homes were damaged and one person was injured in a tornado outbreak across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa on Friday. The National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wisconsin, says it issued 26 tornado warnings during the outbreak, the most in one day since the office opened in 1995.
“The most tornadoes occurred locally north of Interstate 90 in southeast Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin,” the NWS said.
The Weather Service says a tornado that touched down in Olmsted County, Minnesota, around 2:15 p.m. was rated an EF2, with wind speeds peaking around 130 mph. That tornado was on the ground for about 14 minutes, traveled about 10 miles and damaged multiple homes and farms.
“Some of the worst damage was seen near Marion Road just northeast of Highway 52 where homes were more severely damaged with roof removal and partially collapsed exterior walls,” the NWS said.
An EF3 tornado hit near Cream, Wisconsin, just before 3:30 p.m., it traveled about 8 miles over 16 minutes, damaged a home, downed several trees and destroyed some farm outbuildings. The lone reported injury occurred in Iowa when the driver of a box truck was forced into a ditch by a tornado.
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