Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 2002
Start: 2002-08-06T15:30
End: 2002-08-06T15:30
Location: Minnesota

August 6, 2002 · NWS ARX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Winds estimated at 65 mph knocked down several trees. The severe winds blew a garage off its foundation, leaving a new car inside virtually untouched.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $4,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

Winds estimated at 65 mph knocked down several trees. The severe winds blew a garage off its foundation, leaving a new car inside virtually untouched.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 6, 1:55 PM CST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 1:55 PM CST, 1 hour 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
255 PM CDT TUE AUG 6 2002

FORECAST CONCERN THIS PACKAGE FOCUS ON CHANCES OF SHRA/TS BY LATE
FRIDAY AFTERNOON...MAINLY WRN CWA.

AT 2 PM...SURFACE ANALYSIS HAS 1030MB HIGH CENTERED NEAR THUNDER
BAY CANADA. DRY EASTERLY FLOW ACROSS ZONES UNDER THE HIGH. DEW
POINTS RANGED FROM THE LOWER 50S ACROSS CENTRAL WI TO NEAR 60 OVER
NE IA. LOW PRESSURE WAS OVER ERN MT/WY WITH MDT SRLY FLOW ACROSS
DAKOTAS. RADAR HAS DISSIPATING -SHRA FROM THIS MORNINGS CONVECTION
MOVING SE THROUGH NE IA. THE -SHRA  SHOULD BE TOTALLY DISSIPATED BY
ISSUANCE TIME AND SHOULD NOT BE A FACTOR. SATELLITE SHOWED QUITE A
BIT OF MID-HI CLOUD DEBRIS FROM THIS MORNINGS CONVECTION ACROSS
MAINLY THE NRN AND SW PORTIONS OF CWA.

MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE NEAR TERM WITH NO GLARING
DIFFERENCES. BOTH AVN/ETA KEEP US HIGH AND DRY AS UPPER/SURFACE
RIDGE REMAIN IN CONTROL THROUGH FIRST HALF OF FRIDAY. AVN HAS EVEN
BACKED OFF FROM PREVIOUS RUN ON QPF OVER WESTERN ZONES FRIDAY
AFTERNOON AS OMEGA BLOCK PREVENTS TOO MUCH OF AN EASTERLY PUSH OF
SHORTWAVE/FRONT.

OTHER THAN A FEW DEBRIS CLOUDS FLOATING SE ACROSS THE AREA...COUPLE
DEGREE WARM UP PER DAY THROUGH FRIDAY AS UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVERHEAD.
EASTERLY FLOW AT SURFACE WILL TEMPER WARM UP UNDER UPPER RIDGE BEFORE
MODERATE WAA KICKS IN THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

DAYS 4 THROUGH 7 LOOK RATHER UNSETTLED. NEGATIVELY TILTED SHORTWAVE
MOVES EAST ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY FOR CHANCE OF SHRA/TS. NEW
AVN/MRF A BIT DEEPER WITH UPPER LOW THAN PREVIOUS RUN. WITH COLDER
AIR ALOFT AND CONVECTION ...WILL TREND GOING TEMPS DOWN A NOTCH
SATURDAY. BRIEF RIDGING SUNDAY BEFORE NEXT SHORTWAVE/FRONT
APPROACHES MONDAY. COOL DOWN TUESDAY WITH A CHANCE OF SHRA/TS AS
AREA UNDER SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHERN
MANITOBA/ONTARIO.

.LSE...NONE.

DAS

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Winona

When: August 6, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Winona County, St Charles
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.967, -92.083

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.

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 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: 5312035.