Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Thursday’s statewide tornado drills have new meaning for the 60-some people who live in the tiny town of Taopi in southeastern Minnesota.

On the evening of April 12, 2022, an EF2 tornado touched down, destroying and damaging all but a handful of buildings with winds up to 130 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. The storm caused more than $1 million in damage.

Today, the town about 20 miles southeast of Austin looks a lot different. 

“Most of our families are all back,” Taopi Mayor Mary Huntley told MPR News during Minnesota’s Severe Weather Awareness Week. “There’s six brand new homes built from scratch. And then the other homes that were damaged are back and livable, complete renovations and were rebuilt.”

The city is getting ready to build city hall and the township hall is under construction, she said. 

Tornado cleanup continues in Taopi, Minn.; residents expected to rebuild

Leveled by an April tornado, Taopi is coming back to life

Donations began flooding in the morning after the tornado and fundraisers proved successful. But the money paled in comparison to the hope it brought the town, Huntley said. 

“Of course, you can imagine there was tears and grief. But when just strangers reached out to help so much, you know, it told those people — especially the ones losing their homes — this is worth staying, people care about us. So they stayed right there and rebuilt,” Huntley said. 

Huntley says the trauma increased the community’s sensitivity to the weather. Many were caught off guard by the 2022 twister and didn’t have basements. But with rebuilding came improvements and storm shelters. Now, the town is ready to face increasingly strong storms driven by climate change.

Building with climate change in mind will be crucial in the future

Tornado-ravaged towns rebuild and struggle

On Thursday, tornado sirens will sound at 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Taopi doesn’t have a siren but people do receive alerts on their phones, Huntley said. 

Learn more about Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota and Wisconsin from the 

Weather and Climate News

Shows

Morning Edition

NewsPartners

Homepage

Cathy Wurzer

Host

Gracie  Stockton

Author

April 12 is the second anniversary of the EF2 tornado that destroyed the roughly 60-person town of Taopi, Minn. Mayor Mary Huntley said most of the displaced families are now back. 

Taopi mayor: ‘Families are back where they belong’ two years after tornado

Eric Johnson | Austin Daily Herald via AP 2022

A close up of a shirt that reads Taopi Strong

Ben Hovland | MPR News

A person holds papers and looks out of a garage

Taopi mayor: ‘Families are back where they belong’ two years after tornado

Go Deeper.

Like this?