National Centers for Environmental Information reports:
This tornado touched down in Otter Tail County and tracked northeastward for about 2 miles before crossing into Wadena County just southwest of the Wadena city limits. The tornado developed rapidly into a multi-vortex wedge type tornado as it approached Wadena. The tornado continued in Wadena County another 8 miles and ended about 516 PM CDT. Otter Tail County received mainly extreme tree damage with peak winds estimated at 170 mph.
This multi-vortex wedge tornado began in Otter Tail County about 3 miles southwest of the city of Wadena at 459 PM CDT. It tracked for about 2 miles in Otter Tail County, then it continued for another 8 miles in Wadena County. The tornado ravaged the western half of the community of Wadena. Numerous homes were flattened to the ground and at least one was completely swept from its foundation and destroyed. Public and industrial buildings were wrecked, the fairgrounds were damaged, and headstones in the cemetery were overturned. School buses and vehicles were propelled through the air for hundreds of yards. The tornado hit on the day of the Wadena all-school reunion, so many additional people were in the area. Roughly 100 people were displaced from their homes. Peak winds were estimated at 170 mph.
