The Lake Turned Upside Down: The Story of Unthinkable Tragedy and Incredible Survival in the 1969 Outing, Minnesota F4 Tornado

August 6, 1969 became the fifth deadliest day in Minnesota tornado history, killing a total of fifteen people state-wide. Eleven of the fifteen deaths occurred on the east and west shores of Roosevelt Lake at 4:55 p.m. in the tiny town of Outing. There had been no warnings.

Dozens of cabins, resorts, and vacation homes sat in the path of the F4 tornado as it blew through the Outing area, affecting countless lives for decades to come. More unbelievable than the tragedy of those who died is the miracle that anyone survived at all.

The Lake Turned Upside Down is the most comprehensive account of the event to date, compiling news reports, pictures, movies, weather records, and over one hundred testimonies from survivors, first responders, and eyewitnesses. This moving book shares the stories that have been burned on the hearts of the families in Outing that day-their lives, their unbelievable survival, and even how seven of the tornado's victims had been preparing for heaven just weeks beforehand.

The National Weather Service called it the Northwoods Tornado Outbreak. The author calls it a miracle that anyone lived as the cabin she was in with 17 occupants was blown into deep Roosevelt Lake. Sue Dugan Moline shares the drama and hope in a tragedy that has been tucked away until now. After a half-century, it is time to pass on the memories that refused to be silenced.

"I witnessed the Outing tornado damage about a week after the 1969 storm as a nine-year-old youth traveling up north while on vacation with my family. In 1984, I wrote a story on the fifteenth anniversary of the deadly Outing storm. I remember struggling to find witnesses to interview for the story because most of the survivors were from the Twin Cities. Fast forward thirty-five years later, I was in my Dispatch publisher's office when I received a call from Sue (Dugan) Moline, who said she was one of the tornado survivors. I almost dropped the phone. I told her I had waited thirty-five years for a survivor to tell the story of that tragic day. With Sue's help, I published two stories for the fiftieth anniversary of the Outing tornado. Some of those stories were picked up by newspapers across the state. I credit Sue for her long hours of dedication in collecting information from survivors and emergency workers about that day in our history. This book is a story that people didn't want to talk about for decades but needed to share as part of the mental healing from one of the deadliest tornadoes in Minnesota history. It's also a tribute to the emergency workers and local residents who came to the rescue for the small community." -Pete Mohs, publisher, Brainerd Dispatch and Pine and Lakes Echo Journal
About the Author

SUE DUGAN MOLINE is a survivor of the Outing tornado that took the lives of her sister, grandmother, and cousin. She is a graduate of Bethany Global University, and in 1985 started her own successful business, Words to Go. A devoted wife to her high school sweetheart, Scott, together they have four grown daughters and thirteen grandchildren and reside in Bloomington, Minnesota. Sue enjoys gardening, weekends at the lake, and attending her grandkids' activities in her spare time.