Hail, Polk
- When
- July 20, 1:10 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 3 mi S of Angus
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 48.030, -96.720
Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, July 20, 1998
14 hail, 8 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 23
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:08 UTC.
Event by event
14 hail, 8 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Red Lake
- When
- July 20, 1:44 PM CST
- Where
- Red Lake County, Red Lake Falls
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.880, -96.270
Hail, Polk
- When
- July 20, 2:05 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, Maple Bay
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.630, -96.230
Tornado, Polk
- When
- July 20, 2:28 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 7 mi NE of Fertile
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.600, -96.180
Tornado, Polk
- When
- July 20, 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 5 mi NE of Winger
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.580, -95.900
Hail, Norman
- When
- July 20, 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Norman County, Ranum
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.470, -96.130
Hail, Red Lake
- When
- July 20, 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Red Lake County, Oklee
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.830, -95.870
Hail, Polk
- When
- July 20, 2:38 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, 3 mi E of Winger
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.530, -95.920
Hail, Polk
- When
- July 20, 2:43 PM CST
- Where
- Polk County, Fosston
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.570, -95.730
Tornado, Mahnomen
- When
- July 20, 2:50 PM CST
- Where
- Mahnomen County, Mahnomen
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 47.320, -95.980
A tornado was picked up on video near the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen by a parking lot security camera.
Tornado, Mahnomen
- When
- July 20, 2:55 PM CST
- Where
- Mahnomen County, 6 mi NE of Mahnomen
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.380, -95.900
A retired farmer was looking out his back door and saw a swirling cloud come down. He headed for the basement and was not hurt. His home lost power and his house and outbuildings were damaged. Witnesses said the tornado was a high-based rope tornado.
Hail, Clearwater
- When
- July 20, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clearwater County, Shevlin
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.530, -95.270
Hail, Lake of the Woods
- When
- July 20, 3:05 PM CST
- Where
- Lake of the Woods County, Williams
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 48.770, -94.950
Tornado, Mahnomen
- When
- July 20, 3:20 PM CST
- Where
- Mahnomen County, 2 mi N of Waubun
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.220, -95.950
Tornado, Becker
- When
- July 20, 3:30 PM CST
- Where
- Becker County, Ogema
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.100, -95.950
Hail, Becker
- When
- July 20, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Becker County, Ponsford
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.970, -95.380
Tornado, Clearwater
- When
- July 20, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Clearwater County, 10 mi S of Zerkel
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.170, -95.380
Tornado, Becker
- When
- July 20, 4:05 PM CST to 4:20 PM CST
- Where
- Becker County, 5 mi NE of Rochert
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 25 yd
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 46.950, -95.650
2 tornadoes touched down on the east side of Height of Land Lake, blowing down many trees and damaging 6 homes. 2 trees fell on one cabin and another tree fell on a garage. Boat lifts and docks were smashed and power was knocked out. One home reported several broken windows due to the tornadoes with everything in the house covered with fine sand. The tornadoes crossed highway 34 and dissipated.
Hail, Hubbard
- When
- July 20, 4:20 PM CST
- Where
- Hubbard County, 5 mi N of Park Rapids
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.980, -95.070
Thunderstorm Wind, Hubbard
- When
- July 20, 4:20 PM CST
- Where
- Hubbard County, Park Rapids
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 46.920, -95.070
Trees were blown down in the strong wind. One tree fell on a parked car. Park Rapids was without power for an hour.
Hail, Becker
- When
- July 20, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Becker County, 2 mi S of Osage
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.880, -95.270
Hail, Wadena
- When
- July 20, 4:57 PM CST
- Where
- Wadena County, Menahga
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.750, -95.100
Hail, Wadena
- When
- July 20, 5:10 PM CST
- Where
- Wadena County, 8 mi NE of Sebeka
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.720, -94.980
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Pennsylvania, July 20 to 23, 1998
- Heat in Maryland, July 20 to 23, 1998
- Heat in Arkansas, July 20 to 31, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 20, 1998
- Flooding and Hail in Wisconsin, July 20, 1998
- Heat in Oklahoma, July 20, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, July 20, 1998
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, July 20 to 21, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 20, 1998
- Heat in Delaware, July 20 to 24, 1998
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Minnesota, 1998Warnings in Minnesota, July 1998
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5663653, 5663654, 5663655, 5663656, 5663651, 5663657, 5663711, 5663712, 5663713, 5663726, 5663714, 5663715, 5663716, 5663717, 5663652, 5663718, 5663719, 5663720, 5663721, 5663723, 5663722, 5663724, 5663725.