Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, August 8, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, August 8, 2002
Start: 2002-08-08T17:05
End: 2002-08-08T21:55
Location: Minnesota

August 8, 2002 · NWS FGF · 10 events in 4 counties and zones

9 thunderstorm wind, 1 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: $17,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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 8, 2:25 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 8, 2:25 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
325 PM CDT THU AUG 8 2002

FORECAST CHALLENGE FOR TODAY IS PRECIPITATION. LATEST SATELLITE
IMAGERY SHOWS CLOUDS MAINLY OVER ND SIDE. KMVX HAS CLUSTER OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN DVL AREA WITH ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION EXTENDING
ALONG W EDGE OF AREA. CURRENT MSAS SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS SURFACE
LOW CENTERED IN S MB...WITH FRONT EXTENDING THROUGH ND ALONG A
DVL-JMS-MBG LINE. WHEN COMPARING MSAS DATA TO MODEL
INITIALIZATIONS...NGM AND ETA BETTER MATCH THAN AVN...WITH AVN A TAD
MORE PROGRESSIVE. HOWEVER...MODELS VARY QUITE A BIT ON HOW UPPER
LEVEL LOW WILL TRAVERSE THROUGH AREA AND AMOUNTS OF QPF ACCOMPANYING
IT. CONSEQUENTLY...STUCK CLOSEST TO ETA TIMING...BUT UTILIZED AVN
FOR QPF COMPROMISE. WITH LIFTED INDICES DOWN TO -9 AND A GOOD
SURFACE MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE AREA ALONG AND AHEAD OF TROF IN E
ND...EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS...SOME SEVERE WITH HEAVY RAIN TO DEVELOP
SHORTLY AND CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE EVENING. AS A RESULT...WILL
KEEP FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND PARTS OF MN FOR FRI. IN
ADDITION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR E ND AND
PARTS OF NW MN UNTIL 9 PM TONIGHT. UPPER LEVEL LOW FINALLY MOVES E
OF AREA SAT NIGHT...ALLOWING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TO BRIEFLY BUILD IN
OVER AREA FOR SAT NIGHT AND SUN.

EXTENDED...ENSEMBLES AND 12Z AVN LEAN TOWARD A SLOWER SOLUTION THAN
OPERATIONAL MRF FOR UPPER LOW MOVING SOUTH THROUGH MANITOBA. UPPER
LOW WILL DRAW MUCH COOLER WEATHER INTO THE N PLAINS FOR THE FIRST
PART OF THE WEEK WITH HINTS OF +4-6C TEMPERATURES AT 850MB INVADING
THE REGION. EXPECT COOL AND SHOWERY DAY ON MON WITH LINGERING
ACTIVITY INTO TUE. SYSTEM SWINGS TOWARD THE NE BY MID WEEK WITH
GRADUAL WARMUP TO FOLLOW. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW SEASONAL
AVERAGES DURING THE PERIOD.

.FGF...FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF AREA TONIGHT...AND FOR PARTS OF NW AND
WC MN FOR FRI. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALL OF E ND AND PARTS OF NW
AND WC MN UNTIL 9 PM TONIGHT.

NG

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:06 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: August 8, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Polk County, East Grand Forks
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.933, -97.017

Tree damage was reported.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: August 8, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Polk County, Crookston
Property damage: $200
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.783, -96.617

Branches were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Roseau

When: August 8, 6:23 PM CST
Where: Roseau County, Roseau Arpt
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.850, -95.700

A 67 mph wind gust was reported at the Roseau Airport.

Thunderstorm Wind, Roseau

When: August 8, 6:23 PM CST
Where: Roseau County, Roseau
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 48.850, -95.750

Strong winds produced the most damage at the KRWB radio station in Roseau. The wind blew over 2 large trees, shattered the base of a satellite dish, moved a shed 100 feet, and knocked down signs and antennas.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: August 8, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Polk County, 1 mi SE of Fisher
Property damage: $200
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.783, -96.800

Tree branches were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: August 8, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Polk County, 1 mi S of Eldred
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.667, -96.800

A large tree was blown over.

Hail, Polk

When: August 8, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Polk County, 2 mi NE of East Grand Forks
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.950, -96.983

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: August 8, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 5 mi NW of Stephen
Property damage: $300
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.500, -96.950

Trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When: August 8, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Marshall County, 7 mi NE of Stephen
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.517, -96.767

Trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kittson

When: August 8, 9:55 PM CST
Where: Kittson County, 3 mi NW of Donaldson
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.617, -96.950

Trees were blown down.

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.

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: 5317276, 5317277, 5317278, 5317352, 5317279, 5317280, 5317281, 5317282, 5317283, 5317351.