Minnesota, 2002

Hail in Minnesota, May 8, 2002

May 8, 2002 · NWS MPX · 17 events in 8 counties and zones

17 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 12:58 PM CST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 12:58 PM CST, 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
158 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

THE MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGES ARE PRECIP AMOUNTS AND PRECIP TYPE.
STRONG SHORTWAVE TROUGH WITH ATTENDING LOW PRESSURE AREA MOVING
ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST INTO ONTARIO CANADA BY THURSDAY EVENING.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWED A LARGE MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE COMPLEX THAT
HAD DEVELOP THIS MORNING OVER THE EASTERN DAKOTAS...LIFTING
NORTHEAST OVER CWA AT THIS TIME.  EXPECT MORE SHRA/TSRA TO DEVELOP
AHEAD OF THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER OUR EASTERN SECTION.  SURFACE
ANALYSIS SHOWED DEWPOINT IN THE 50S ADVECTING INTO SOUTH CENTRAL
MN.  WINDS HAD TURNED MORE TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST AS SURFACE LOW OVR
NORTHERN IA ADVANCES NORTHEAST INTO SOUTHERN MN DURING THE PERIOD.
TSRA AND SHRA ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST TONIGHT...BUT STILL A CHANCE
OF RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS AS COLDER AIR SETTLES BACK OVER THE STATE.

WEAK UPPER RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST THURSDAY NIGHT.
FINALLY A COUPLE OF DRY DAYS BEFORE THE NEXT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS ERUPT FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.

MAX TEMPS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...WILL REMAIN ON THE COOL SIDE WITH
READINGS IN THE 40S AND 50S THURSDAY AND MAINLY IN THE 50S FRIDAY.

.MSP...NONE.
JVM

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Blue Earth

When
May 8, 1:43 PM CST
Where
Blue Earth County, Mankato
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.167, -94.017

Hail, Le Sueur

When
May 8, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur County, 5 mi W of Waterville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.217, -93.667

Hail, Waseca

When
May 8, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Waseca County, Janesville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.117, -93.717

Hail, Waseca

When
May 8, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Waseca County, 6 mi NW of Waseca
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.150, -93.583

Hail, Le Sueur

When
May 8, 2:03 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur County, Waterville
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.217, -93.567

Hail, Scott

When
May 8, 2:12 PM CST
Where
Scott County, New Market
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.583, -93.350

Hail, Rice

When
May 8, 2:22 PM CST
Where
Rice County, 2 mi W of Faribault
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.300, -93.300

Hail, Rice

When
May 8, 2:35 PM CST
Where
Rice County, Morristown
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.233, -93.450

Hail, Rice

When
May 8, 2:38 PM CST
Where
Rice County, Northfield
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.467, -93.167

Hail, Dakota

When
May 8, 2:43 PM CST
Where
Dakota County, 4 mi S of Castle Rock
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.500, -93.150

Hail, Rice

When
May 8, 2:58 PM CST
Where
Rice County, 3 mi E of Northfield
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.467, -93.100

Hail, Rice

When
May 8, 3:08 PM CST
Where
Rice County, 3 mi NW of Nerstrand
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.383, -93.117

Hail, Goodhue

When
May 8, 3:10 PM CST to 3:15 PM CST
Where
Goodhue County, 1 mi S of Stanton
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.467, -93.017

Hail, Goodhue

When
May 8, 4:13 PM CST
Where
Goodhue County, Wanamingo
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
44.300, -92.800

Hail, Goodhue

When
May 8, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Goodhue County, Goodhue
Measured
2.5 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.400, -92.633

Hail, Goodhue

When
May 8, 4:58 PM CST
Where
Goodhue County, Goodhue
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.400, -92.633

Hail, Carver

When
May 8, 5:05 PM CST
Where
Carver County, Chaska
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.783, -93.600

What these are

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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, May 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: 5300242, 5300243, 5300244, 5300245, 5300246, 5300247, 5300257, 5300258, 5300259, 5300260, 5300261, 5300262, 5300263, 5300264, 5300265, 5300266, 5300267.