Name: Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 21, 2002
Start: 2002-07-21T04:30
End: 2002-07-21T04:45
Location: Minnesota

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 1:25 AM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 1:25 AM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/N-EAST SD AND W-CENTRAL MN
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
225 AM CDT SUN JUL 21 2002

MAIN ISSUE FIRST PERIOD IS PCPN THEN FOR THE REST OF THE SHORT RANGE
MUCH MORE TRANQUIL.  MCS OVER CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA SHOULD CONTINUE
TO MOVE/DEVELOP TOWARD THE EAST/NE AROUND PERIPHERY OF CAPPING
RIDGE.  LOOKS LIKE GOOD PORTION OF THE CWA WILL GET MUCH NEEDED
RAIN...SOME LOCALLY HEAVY BUT THIS SHOULDNT CREATE MUCH OF AN
ISSUE.  TEMPS WERE THE NEXT PROBLEM FOR TODAY.  DEBRIS CLOUDS COULD
HOLD BACK READINGS SOME...THAT AND STILL RELATIVELY HIGH DEWPOINTS.
STUCK FAIRLY CLOSE TO GOING FORECAST GIVEN DISTINCT POSSIBILITY OF
AFTERNOON SUN...PLUS PROGGED 8H TEMPS ARE SUPPORTIVE.

FOR TNT AM AIMING FOR NO PCPN AS BOUNDARY SLIDES FURTHER SOUTHEAST
AND DRIER AIR ADVECTS INTO THE REGION BEHIND SECONDARY COOL PUSH.
OVERNIGHT TEMPS TO BE SOMEWHAT COOLER THAN HAS BEEN EXPERIENCED OF
LATE.  MILDER TEMPS AND LOWER DEWPOINTS CONTINUE INTO MONDAY.

FOR MONDAY NIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY SFC FLOW BECOMES EASTERLY UPSLOPE
ACROSS SW CWA.  PLUS FAVORABLE JET QUADRANT WILL BE OVERHEAD.
MODELS TRYING TO CRANK OUT SOME LIGHT PCPN.  HOWEVER MOISTURE STILL
SORTA SCANT AND MID LEVEL LIFT PROGGED TO BE ONLY MINOR.  THEREFORE
WILL MAINTAIN DRY FORECAST BUT LATER SHIFTS WILL HAVE TO MONITOR THE
SITUATION.  FOR NOW HAVE NOT MODIFIED THE EXTENDED.  TRICKY
NORTHWEST FLOW ALWAYS PLAY HAVOC ACROSS THIS CWA AND UPCOMING
EXTENDED LIKELY TO BE NO DIFFERENT.

.ABR...NONE.
TDK

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 21, 12:50 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN, SD
150 AM CDT SUN JUL 21 2002

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

0125 AM    PIERRE                    SD   59 MPH WIND GUST
07/21/02   HUGHES

PARKIN

Local storm report, Jul 21, 4:25 AM CST, 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN, SD
525 AM CDT SUN JUL 21 2002

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

0420 AM    1 NW ABERDEEN             SD   WIND DAMAGE
07/21/02   BROWN                          A 3-4 INCH TREE BRANCH WAS
                                          BLOWN DOWN AND SIDING WAS
                                          BLOWN OFF OF A TRAILER
                                          HOUSE.

0517 AM    SISSETON                  SD   69 MPH TSTM WIND
07/21/02   ROBERTS

PARKIN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Big Stone

When: July 21, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Big Stone County, Ortonville
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.317, -96.450

Several large tree limbs were downed in Ortonville.

Thunderstorm Wind, Traverse

When: July 21, 4:45 AM CST
Where: Traverse County, 8 mi NW of Collis
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 45.733, -96.550

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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, July 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: 5309492, 5309493.