Twin Cities NWS issues two tornado warnings as rotation crosses Minnesota into Wisconsin
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities issued a tornado warning at 4:53 p.m.
A second warning followed in Pine County and Burnett County, where a weak tornado touched down over Love Lake.
Background
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities is the forecast office that issued the first tornado warning and reported rotation; the office in Duluth issued the second. A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes, while a warning means one has been spotted or detected on radar and people in the area should take shelter immediately. The warnings came on an unusually warm October day, with east-central Minnesota and far western Wisconsin under a slight risk of severe weather, Level 2 on a 5-point scale.
How it unfolded
- Oct 28, 2026The Storm Prediction Center issued Tornado Watch 698 at 3:40 p.m. CDT, in effect until 9 p.m., covering 21 Minnesota counties and several Wisconsin counties.
- Oct 28, 2026As of 4:30 p.m., three severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect and several reports of rotation had come in, the NWS in the Twin Cities said.
- Oct 28, 2026The NWS in the Twin Cities issued the first tornado warning at 4:53 p.m. CDT for parts of Dakota and Goodhue counties in Minnesota and Pierce County in Wisconsin after radar showed rotation near Stanton.
- Oct 28, 2026At 5:11 p.m., the NWS office in Duluth issued a second tornado warning for southern Pine County in Minnesota and Burnett County in Wisconsin.
- Oct 28, 2026The Storm Prediction Center's preliminary reports include one tornado at 5:40 p.m. about 3 miles southeast of Danbury in Burnett County, Wisconsin, where a weak, brief rotation kicked up small branches, leaves and water over Love Lake with no damage reported.
- Oct 28, 2026Both tornado warnings have since expired.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- The NWS in the Twin Cities said storm spotters may need to be activated through early this evening, and forecasters said large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes are all possible.
Still unverified
The Storm Prediction Center's tornado report near Danbury in Burnett County, Wisconsin, is listed as preliminary.