Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, August 11, 2002

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, August 11, 2002
Start: 2002-08-11T18:15
End: 2002-08-11T22:45
Location: Minnesota

August 11, 2002 · NWS FGF · 12 events in 7 counties and zones

6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 3 hail, 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: $6,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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 Aug 11, 2:15 PM CST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 2:15 PM CST, 4 hours before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
315 PM CDT SUN AUG 11 2002

...FCST CHALLENGE IS SEVERE WEATHER THREAT THROUGH THIS EVENING...

ANALYSIS/NEAR TERM...DISCUSSION IS ABBREVIATED DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER
THREAT. SUPERCELL TSTMS DEVELOPING QUICKLY AHEAD OF A DEEPENING LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM IN SCNTRL ND...IN AREA OF LOW LVL MOISTURE
CONVERGENCE. STRENGTHENING 500MB (50KT PLUS) JET STREAK NOW ROUNDING
THE BASE OF THE 500MB TROF IN SOUTHWEST MT WILL PROVIDE INCREASING
DYNAMIC SUPPORT FOR STRONG TSTM DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION THROUGH
THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. SWOMCD PROJECTS POSSIBLE
SQUALL LINE DEVELOPMENT...LATE AFTERNOON IN ERN ND THEN EARLY
EVENING INTO WRN MN. SEVERE WATCH IN EFFECT ACROSS ERN ND ATTM. WILL
POSSIBLY NEED ADDN WATCH INTO WRN MN BY EARLY EVENING AS LINE
DEVELOPS.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY...COLD POOL ALOFT SHIFTS ACROSS THE NRN PLAINS ON
MONDAY WITH SHOWERS EXPECTED TO REDEVLOP BY MID AFTERNOON. UPPER LVL
TROUGH THEN ANCHORS OVR THE NRN PLAINS THROUGH THE MIDWEEK PERIOD
KEEPING AREA UNDER SEASONABLY COOLER FLOW NEXT WEAK IMPULSE INTO THE
AREA LATE AFTERNOON TUESDAY. SOME DRYING POSSIBLE BY LATE WEK PERIOD
THOUGH TEMPS REMAIN BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS.

.FGF...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR EASTERN ND THIS EVENING.

GUST

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Norman

When: August 11, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Norman County, Hendrum
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.267, -96.817

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: August 11, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Clay County, Glyndon
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.867, -96.583

Thunderstorm Wind, Mahnomen

When: August 11, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Mahnomen County, 1 mi W of Bejou
Property damage: $200
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.450, -96.000

Branches were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Norman

When: August 11, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Norman County, 1 mi SE of Ranum
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.450, -96.117

Large trees were blown down.

Tornado, Mahnomen

When: August 11, 7:05 PM CST to 7:06 PM CST
Where: Mahnomen County, 1 mi W of Bejou
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.450, -96.000

A brief touchdown pulled up tin on a barn roof.

Thunderstorm Wind, Becker

When: August 11, 7:10 PM CST
Where: Becker County, 3 mi SW of Ogema
Property damage: $200
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.067, -96.000

Branches were blown down.

Tornado, Clearwater

When: August 11, 7:45 PM CST to 7:46 PM CST
Where: Clearwater County, 1 mi S of Bagley
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.500, -95.400

The tornado made a brief touchdown in a open pasture.

Tornado, Clearwater

When: August 11, 7:55 PM CST to 7:56 PM CST
Where: Clearwater County, 2 mi S of Shevlin
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.500, -95.267

A brief touchdown knocked down a few trees in a yard.

Hail, Becker

When: August 11, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Becker County, 3 mi E of Evergreen
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.767, -95.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Clearwater

When: August 11, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Clearwater County, 1 mi SE of Lake Itasca
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.233, -95.200

A large tree was blown down.

Hail, Otter Tail

When: August 11, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Otter Tail County, 1 mi NE of Butler
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.700, -95.333

Hail, Grant

When: August 11, 10:45 PM CST
Where: Grant County, Hoffman
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 45.833, -95.800

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.
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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Minnesota, 2002 Warnings in Minnesota, August 2002

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: 5317369, 5317370, 5317371, 5317378, 5317379, 5317372, 5317373, 5317443, 5317374, 5317375, 5317376, 5317377.