2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 Aug 20, 2:40 PM CST, 10 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 340 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003 VERY UNSTABLE AIR FROM EAST CENTRAL MN INTO OUR WISCONSIN COUNTIES. WORKED IN SEVERE WORDING FROM MISSISSIPPI RIVER EAST WITH CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS OVER MOST OF CWA THROUGH EVENING HOURS. FAIRLY STRONG 0-6KM SHEAR FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR ALONG WITH DECENT 0-1KM SHEAR AND 0-1KM SRH ON SPC WEB SITE. HOWEVER...THE LOW LEVEL SHEAR HAS WEAKENED SOMEWHAT OVER THE LAST HOUR. HOWEVER...OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM LAST NIGHTS STORMS STILL LEAVES ITS IMPRESSION OVER WISCONSIN COUNTIES AND THAT DOES PROVIDE AN INDICATION OF AT LEAST SOME TORNADO RISK THIS EVENING. AFTER TONIGHTS STORMS...WE COOL DOWN AND REALLY DRY OUT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK...AND THEN START WARMING UP OVER THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. .MSP...NONE.
MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-211100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 1244 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE LIFTING NORTHEAST FROM EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA INTO NORTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WILL CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ALONG ITS PATH. TWO AREAS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE FIRST AREA WILL BE CENTRAL MINNESOTA...FROM HUTCHINSON AND ST. CLOUD...WEST TO MORRIS AND LONG PRAIRIE...WHERE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP BETWEEN 2 AND 4 PM. A FEW OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND...AND PERHAPS AN ISOLATED TORNADO. THESE WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO EASTERN AND NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA. THE SECOND AREA IS EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA INTO WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN...FROM FARIBAULT TO CAMBRIDGE...EAST TO EAU CLAIRE AND LADYSMITH. THESE ALSO WILL DEVELOP IN THE 2 TO 4 PM TIMEFRAME. THESE STORMS WILL EXIST IN A LITTLE MORE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR PRODUCING SEVERE WEATHER...AND AN ENHANCED TORNADO THREAT. THESE STORMS WILL ALSO POSE A DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL THREAT. EXPECT ALL STORMS TO MOVE EAST-NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH...WITH THE SEVERE THREAT DIMINISHING RAPIDLY AS SUNSET APPROACHES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. BINAU
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:05 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Scattered trees down, including some on houses and power lines.
Roof partially blown off home. Barn blown down. Numerous trees and large branches down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, August 2003
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: 5368973, 5368974.