Five scattered tornadoes touched down across the Great Plains and Midwestern United States on June 19, 1951. The event was highlighted by a large, violent F4 tornado family that moved through the western and northern suburbs of Minneapolis, causing all the tornadic casualties from the outbreak. In all, one person was killed, 20 others were injured, and damage was estimated at $ ( USD). There was one additional death and six injuries from non-tornadic events as well.
Meteorological synopsis
A low-pressure area formed over northeastern South Dakota very early on June 19. As other storms formed across the Central U.S. throughout the day, this low moved slowly eastward into Minnesota, becoming the focal point for locally strong to severe storms, including two that would produce a violent F4 tornado family and a strong F2 tornado.
Confirmed tornadoes
Note: Several tornadoes were reported in the CDNS report but not confirmed in the final count: A possible tornado was sighted northeast of Ashland, Kansas, but it was not confirmed. However, this may have actually been the tornado confirmed on the day instead of the Comanche County, Kansas, F0 tornado. The tornado was spotted right before a hail and high wind storm which had originated about north of Ashland moved southward and caused a wide swath of damage. High winds flattened nearly ripe wheat, while hail caused extensive damage to crops and light damage to property. The damage ended about south of town. A small tornado, which was followed by hail, damaged a house, uprooted trees, and flattened 20 acres of corn and a garden at a farm east of Ottawa, Kansas.
June 19 event
Hutchinson–Hamel–Brooklyn Center–Spring Lake Park, Minnesota
This violent F4 tornado family, which was accompanied by heavy rain and large hail, was first observed touching down in McLeod County west of Hutchinson. A car in this area was picked up, thrown , and totaled. The occupants in the car, a police chief and his son, escaped without any injuries. The tornado then moved directly through Hutchinson at around 5:30 pm CT. An icehouse, warehouse, houses, barns and outbuildings were obliterated, and about 50 city dwellings, buildings, and street carnival concessions were damaged. Additionally, many windows were blown in or broken; chimneys, billboards, signs, and power and communication lines were blown down; cars and growing crops were damaged or destroyed; and hundreds of trees were uprooted. Two homes sustained low-end F3 damage and debris from the town was strewn along MN 7. Most of the town was left without power after the storm as well. The tornado then moved northeastward, heavily damaging several farms north of Silver Lake, possibly lifting before reaching Wright County.
Heavy rain and hail continued with the storm before the tornado touched down again in Hennepin County at around 6:30 pm CT. It intensified as it approached MN 55 and became a violent F4 tornado as it passed near Hamel, about west of Robbinsdale. As it reached the highway, it threw a home before leveling it, severely injuring the elderly woman in the house. She would later die at the hospital; her nephew and foster daughter were also injured. The tornado also heavily damaged or destroyed other homes, a garage, and several other structures. The tornado then weakened, doing less severe damage, before restrengthening to an intense F3 tornado as it struck Brooklyn Center at around 7 pm CT. A trailer house was picked and thrown three blocks before being destroyed. Seven homes were also destroyed and clocks were stopped at 7:01 pm as the power went out. A boy was injured in the town as well. The tornado then crossed over into Anoka County northwest of Spring Lake Park, where more damage and destruction occurred and clocks were stopped at 7:03 pm CT. After either briefly weakening or possibly lifting, the tornado demolished several homes near the intersection of Foley Boulevard and US 10 (now County Road 10). Nine people, including seven children, were injured in one of the homes. The tornado then finally weakened before dissipating shortly thereafter. Across this portion of the path, the tornado damaged or destroyed 50 homes as well as many other buildings.
The tornado family caused $5 million in damage killed one person and injured 20 others. The same storm also produced a tornado report east of St. Paul at around 7:45 pm CT, but that turned out to be a just a well-developed funnel cloud that never touched the ground.