Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 2, 2003

Name: Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 2, 2003
Start: 2003-07-02T19:15
End: 2003-07-02T19:15
Location: Minnesota

July 2, 2003 · NWS DLH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A large tree fell on the tent of a couple who were camping at Jackfish Bay of Basswood Lake. The woman was killed while her 42 year old fiance was knocked unconscious.

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: 1
Injuries: 1
Property damage: None recorded
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 DLH wrote it up.

A large tree fell on the tent of a couple who were camping at Jackfish Bay of Basswood Lake. The woman was killed while her 42 year old fiance was knocked unconscious.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 2, 2:49 PM CST, 4 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 2:49 PM CST, 4 hours 26 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
349 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2003

DISCUSSION WILL BE SHORT DUE TO ANTICIPATED SEVERE WEATHER. NEAR
SEVERE MCS NOW INTO NW MN WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD IN MN
CWFA. TSRA WILL HOLD OFF IN NW WI UNTIL LATER THIS EVENING AS
ATMOSPHERE IS WELL CAPPED. EXPECT MCS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT
OVER THE FA...DIMINISHING AFTER MIDNIGHT IN WESTERN TIER OF FA.
BULK OF THE TSRA WILL BE OVER BY 12Z THURSDAY...BUT MAY LINGER IN NW
WI. A BREAK IN THE ACTION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THURSDAY AS A PIECE
OF SHORT WAVE ENERGY DUE TO ARRIVE IN THE AFTERNOON. TSRA WILL
BREAK OUT ONCE AGAIN AND TRAVERSE THE FA IN THE LATE AFTERNOON.
EXPECT ANOTHER MCS TO DEVELOP THURSDAY NIGHT OVER MAINLY EASTERN
HALF OF FA THURSDAY EVENING AND LINGER INTO NW WI. NO PCPN EXPECTED
ON FRIDAY.

.DLH...NONE.

GSF

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 2, 11:51 AM CST, 7 hours 24 minutes before

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-031230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
1251 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2003

...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT IN A PORTION OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA...
...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY IN NORTHWEST
WISCONSIN...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR NORTHEASTERN
MINNESOTA WEST OF A LINE FROM CRANE LAKE TO GRAND RAPIDS TO
BRAINERD FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. TO THE EAST OF THIS
LINE...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR
NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA AND NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN FOR TONIGHT.
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM ALONG A COLD FRONT OVER THE
DAKOTAS TODAY AND MOVE INTO WESTERN MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON. THIS
SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS
NORTHERN MINNESOTA TONIGHT AND PUSH INTO NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN BY
MIDNIGHT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS
AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS LIKELY WITH THE
THUNDERSTORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWESTERN
WISCONSIN...SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SIREN TO PARK FALLS FOR THURSDAY
AFTERNOON. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ELSEWHERE
IN NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA AND NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN THURSDAY
AFTERNOON. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS. A FEW TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE FROM STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS.
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS LIKELY WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS.
ADDITIONALLY...THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO
SUNDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON IN
NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...AND TONIGHT IN NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL:

HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DLH

GSF

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 2, 3:40 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
0440 PM CDT WED JUL 02 2003

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

0436 PM    BIGFORK                   MN   70 MPH TSTORM WIND
07/02/03   NORTHEAST ITASCA               70+ MPH WINDS WITH 6-8
                                          INCH DIAMETER TREES DOWN.

CLC

Local storm report, Jul 2, 4:08 PM CST, 3 hours 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
0508 PM CDT WED JUL 02 2003

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

0500 PM    10 NE DEER RIVER          MN   80 MPH TSTORM WIND
07/02/03   SOUTHERN ITASCA                TREES DOWN.

CLC

Local storm report, Jul 2, 5:37 PM CST, 1 hour 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
0637 PM CDT WED JUL 02 2003

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

0545 PM    WALKER                    MN   1.00 IN HAIL
07/02/03   NORTHERN CASS

0615 PM    5 SE BIGFORK              MN   0.75 IN HAIL
07/02/03   NORTHEAST ITASCA               NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND
                                          POWER OUT ACROSS THE AREA.

0630 PM    REMER                     MN   0.88 IN HAIL
07/02/03   NORTHERN CASS

CLC

Local storm report, Jul 2, 5:46 PM CST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
0646 PM CDT WED JUL 02 2003

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

0645 PM    4 NW LONGVILLE            MN   0.88 IN HAIL
07/02/03   NORTHERN CASS

CLC

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: July 2, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Lake County, 35 mi NW of Isabella
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 47.983, -91.883

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Thunderstorm Wind, Lake	2003-07-02	38	Female	Camping	Direct

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, July 2003

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: 5375780.