BREAKING NEWS: WEATHER SERVICE CONFIRMS TORNADO HIT STEELE COUNTY

The word of the year for 2021 should probably be “unprecedented” for many reasons – including the weather.
Dec. 15 brought temperatures in the mid-60s in southern Minnesota – followed closely by severe storms.
The National Weather Service has now confirmed 20 tornadoes hit the area that night – including one in Steele County. It was one of 12 recorded in the NWS Twin Cities office.
Registered as the “East Bixby” tornado, the EF0 hit at 7:33 p.m., with peak winds of 80 mph. It cut a path 6.5 miles long, with a maximum width of 75 feet.
The NWS described it as “a narrow path of mostly tree damage, found just to the west of SE 89th Ave. An irrigation system was overturned, some farm outbuildings were damaged and a small shed was tossed.”
The twister was part of a serial derecho from Kansas to Wisconsin, resulting in more than 560 reports of damaging wind and more than 60 tornadoes.
The most significant damage was in Hartland, Minn., and Stanley, Wis., where EF2 tornadoes were confirmed. The wind in Hartland hit 115 mph. Prior to this, a tornado had never been reported in Minnesota in December.
Including Hartland, Freeborn County registered seven twisters; Mower County had one; Fillmore County had five; Goodhue County saw two; Wabasha County had one, which hit the Plainview area with 93 mph winds.