Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, July 31, 2001

Name: Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, July 31, 2001
Start: 2001-07-31T10:32
End: 2001-07-31T17:30
Location: Minnesota

July 31, 2001 · NWS FGF · 16 events in 6 counties and zones

9 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 tornado, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $155,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 16

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 9:30 AM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 9:30 AM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1030 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

FORECAST CHALLENGE FOR TODAY IS PCPN. CURRENT SATELLITE IMAGERY
SHOWS CWFA BASICALLY CLOUDY WITH TSRA IN ND SIDE OF CWFA. KMVX
SHOWING TSRA COMPLEX MOVING INTO RED RIVER VALLEY. LATEST MSAS SFC
PRESSURE ANALYSIS HAS LOW PRESSURE IN CENTRAL ND...WITH FRONT
EXTENDING ALONG A JMS-GFK-HCO LINE. WHEN COMPARING INITIALIZATION
CONDITIONS TO MODELS...ETA BEST MATCH. WITH PW'S AROUND 2.O
INCH...GOOD 850 MB LLJ...THETA-E RIDGE...AND 700MB TROF
APPROACHING...TSRA WITH HEAVY RAIN STILL LOOKS GOOD AS WELL AS SOME
SVR. THEREFORE...CURRENT FORECAST PRETTY WELL IN HAND. ONLY MINOR
CHANGES NEEDED.

.FGF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FULL CWFA TODAY.

NG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 31, 5:05 AM CST, 5 hours 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
605 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0240 AM    VALLEY CITY               ND   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   BARNES                         TREES DOWN

0357 AM    HALSTAD                   MN   67 MPH TSTM GUST
07/31/01   NORMAN

0417 AM    HAWLEY                    MN   .88 INCH HAIL
07/31/01   CLAY

0425 AM    CROOKSTON                 MN   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   POLK                           4-5 INCH DIAMETER LIMBS
                                          DOWN

0425 AM    GENTILLY                  MN   WIND DAMAGE
07/31/01   POLK                           4-5 INCH DIAMETER LIMBS
                                          DOWN

Special weather statement, Jul 31, 5:47 AM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027-028-311250-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
647 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 645 FOR NORTHWEST MINNESOTA HAS
BEEN CANCELLED....

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED OUT OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND
HAVE WEAKENED.  THUS THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THAT WAS IN
EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CDT FOR BELTRAMI...LAKE OF THE WOODS...ROSEAU...
KITTSON...MARSHALL...PENNINGTON...RED LAKE...POLK...HUBBARD...
CLEARWATER...NORMAN...MAHNOMEN...BECKER AND CLAY COUNTIES HAS BEEN
CANCELLED.

RIDDLE

Special weather statement, Jul 31, 5:59 AM CST, 4 hours 33 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-311455-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
659 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2001

...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING FROM THE RED RIVER VALLEY EAST INTO MINNESOTA...

SYNOPSIS...LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA AND STRENGTHEN THIS AFTERNOON.  THE LOW WILL THEN MOVE
INTO MANITOBA THIS EVENING WITH A COLD FRONT MOVING EAST INTO
MINNESOTA. THE ATMOSPHERE OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST
MINNESOTA IS VERY UNSTABLE AND VERY MOIST.  AS THE LOW AND FRONT
INTERACT WITH THIS AIRMASS LATER TODAY AND EARLY EVENING
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO RE-DEVELOP WITH SOME SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY.

AREA OF CONCERN...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER EAST OF
A PEMBINA TO LAKOTA TO VALLEY CITY NORTH DAKOTA LINE...THEN
EAST TO INCLUDE ALL THE RED RIVER VALLEY AND NORTHWEST AND WEST
CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

TIME...BETWEEN 3 PM AND MIDNIGHT CDT.

TYPE OF HAZARD...HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS...AND LARGE HAIL.

RIDDLE

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 31, 10:32 AM CST
Where: Polk County, Fisher
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.800, -96.817

Power poles were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 31, 10:50 AM CST
Where: Polk County, 3 mi S of Angus
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.033, -96.717

Numerous trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 31, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Polk County, 7 mi NE of Angus
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.150, -96.617

Branches were blown down.

Hail, Red Lake

When: July 31, 11:15 AM CST
Where: Red Lake County, 1 mi SW of Wylie
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.950, -96.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Pennington

When: July 31, 11:20 AM CST
Where: Pennington County, Thief River Falls
Measured: 63 kt (72 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.133, -96.183

Numerous large trees were blown down. The wind speed was measured by a Davis system. Two powerlines were also blown down.

Hail, Pennington

When: July 31, 11:23 AM CST
Where: Pennington County, Thief River Falls
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.133, -96.183

Thunderstorm Wind, Pennington

When: July 31, 11:35 AM CST
Where: Pennington County, 4 mi W of Mavie
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.150, -96.017

Several large branches were blown down.

Hail, Marshall

When: July 31, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Marshall County, 15 mi SW of Grygla
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.150, -95.850

The hail fell along the county line.

Hail, Pennington

When: July 31, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Pennington County, 2 mi NE of Mavie
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.167, -95.900

The hail fell along the county line.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 31, 12:30 PM CST
Where: Polk County, 4 mi SE of Angus
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.050, -96.650

Small trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pennington

When: July 31, 12:35 PM CST
Where: Pennington County, 13 mi W of Thief River Falls
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.133, -96.467

Branches were blown down.

Hail, Marshall

When: July 31, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 3 mi NE of Holt
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.333, -96.133

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: July 31, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 3 mi NE of Holt
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.333, -96.133

Tree branches were blown down.

Hail, Marshall

When: July 31, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 5 mi NW of Grygla
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.350, -95.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Beltrami

When: July 31, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Beltrami County, 7 mi NW of Thorhult
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.300, -95.350

Tree branches were blown down.

Tornado, Lake of the Woods

When: July 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Lake of the Woods County, 4 mi S of Graceton
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 48.700, -94.817

A brief touchdown was reported.

What these are

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.
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

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Minnesota, 2001 Warnings in Minnesota, July 2001

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: 5260542, 5260543, 5260544, 5260545, 5260546, 5260547, 5260548, 5260549, 5260550, 5260551, 5260552, 5260553, 5260554, 5260555, 5260556, 5260557.