Hail, Mower
- When
- March 29, 3:50 PM CST
- Where
- Mower County, 3 mi N of Austin
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $12,000
- Coordinates
- 43.720, -92.930
Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
Hail the size of dimes to as large as tennis balls was reported by storm spotters and law enforcement officials across parts of southeast Minnesota. The city of Rochester was especially hit hard with significant hail damage to cars and trucks.
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
- $457,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 15
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
Hail the size of dimes to as large as tennis balls was reported by storm spotters and law enforcement officials across parts of southeast Minnesota. The city of Rochester was especially hit hard with significant hail damage to cars and trucks. A tornado touched down briefly near Wabasha as well, but no injuries or damage was reported.
The radar
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:51 UTC.
Event by event
14 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Dodge
- When
- March 29, 3:57 PM CST
- Where
- Dodge County, Hayfield
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.880, -92.870
Hail, Olmsted
- When
- March 29, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Olmsted County, Salem Corners
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.980, -92.600
Hail, Olmsted
- When
- March 29, 4:02 PM CST
- Where
- Olmsted County, Byron
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.030, -92.650
Hail, Olmsted
- When
- March 29, 4:10 PM CST to 4:15 PM CST
- Where
- Olmsted County, 6 mi NW of Byron
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 44.100, -92.730
Hail, Dodge
- When
- March 29, 4:12 PM CST
- Where
- Dodge County, 5 mi NE of Mantorville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.120, -92.680
Hail, Olmsted
- When
- March 29, 4:14 PM CST
- Where
- Olmsted County, Rochester
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 44.030, -92.470
Hail, Olmsted
- When
- March 29, 4:15 PM CST
- Where
- Olmsted County, Rochester
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 44.030, -92.470
Hail, Olmsted
- When
- March 29, 4:16 PM CST
- Where
- Olmsted County, 2 mi N of Rochester
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 44.070, -92.470
Hail, Dodge
- When
- March 29, 4:19 PM CST
- Where
- Dodge County, Mantorville
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 44.070, -92.750
Hail, Dodge
- When
- March 29, 4:19 PM CST
- Where
- Dodge County, 5 mi NE of Mantorville
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.120, -92.680
Hail, Wabasha
- When
- March 29, 4:50 PM CST
- Where
- Wabasha County, Zumbro Falls
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 44.280, -92.430
Hail, Wabasha
- When
- March 29, 5:05 PM CST
- Where
- Wabasha County, Wabasha
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Coordinates
- 44.380, -92.030
Tornado, Wabasha
- When
- March 29, 5:07 PM CST to 5:10 PM CST
- Where
- Wabasha County, Wabasha to 3 mi W of Wabasha
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Coordinates
- 44.380, -92.100
Hail, Wabasha
- When
- March 29, 5:07 PM CST
- Where
- Wabasha County, Lake City
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.450, -92.270
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Tornadoes in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Tornado in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Tornado in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Tornado in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, March 29, 1998
- Tornado in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Hail and High Wind in Kansas, March 29 to 31, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, March 29, 1998
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, March 29, 1998
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, March 29, 1998
- Hail in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Minnesota, 1998Warnings in Minnesota, March 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: 5630869, 5630855, 5630856, 5630857, 5630861, 5630867, 5630866, 5630859, 5630860, 5630858, 5630868, 5630862, 5630865, 5630863, 5630864.