Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 30, 2003

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 30, 2003
Start: 2003-07-30T09:25
End: 2003-07-30T18:28
Location: Minnesota

July 30, 2003 · NWS FGF · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

6 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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: 7

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 Jul 30, 2:30 AM CST, 6 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 2:30 AM CST, 6 hours 55 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
330 AM CDT WED JUL 30 2003

SCATTERED SHOWERS MOVING SOUTHEAST IN SOUTHERN MANITOBA MAY LAST
TO CROSS OVER INTO EXTREME NORTHEAST ND/NORTHWEST MN THIS MORNING
SO WILL KEEP ITS MENTION THIS AREA. LOW CLOUDS DEVELOPING AND
SPREADING IN LAKE REGION OF NORTHWEST MN DUE TO MOISTURE LAID DOWN
DURING EVENING... A WEAK SUBSIDENCE INVERSION WHICH DEVELOPED OVER
THE TOP OF THE STRATUS LAYER...AND CONTINUED MOIST FLOW FROM
NORTHWEST. WILL GO FOR A LATE MORNING BURN OFF OF THIS LAYER.
PATCHY FOG IS LIKELY LATE TONIGHT IN LAKE REGION IF CLOUDS CAN
DISSIPATE SOON ENOUGH AS TEMPERATURES DIP A LITTLE MORE.

MINIMAL JET DYNAMICS OR THERMAL BOUNDARIES ARE AVAILABLE TO AID
CONVECTION TODAY. INITIATION OF THUNDER/SHOWERS IS MAINLY DEPENDENT
ON REACHING THE CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURE WHICH SHOULDN/T BE DIFFICULT
TO REACH TODAY OR THU EXCEPT POSSIBLY WEST AND SOUTH OF FARGO.
CONVECTION WILL BE PRETTY DISORGANIZED BUT THEIR LOCATION WILL
DEPEND MAINLY ON VORTICITY LOBES ROTATING AROUND PARENT UPPER LOW.
WATER VAPOR SHOWS MANY OF THE VORT CENTERS BUT THE STRONGEST THAT
BOTH ETA/GFS AGREE OVER IS CURRENTLY OVER WESTCENTRAL MANITOBA WHILE
MOVING OVER SLIGHTLY DEEPER MOISTURE THAN WE HAVE THIS FAR SOUTH.
THIS FEATURE WILL SWING SOUTHWARD LATE LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVE
TO NORTHERN RED RIVER VALLEY AND DEW POINTS WILL STAY RATHER HIGH
(UPPER 50S/NEAR 60) UNDERNEATH SUCH A COLD CORE LOW. BUT OTHER MINOR
VORTICITY MAXES WILL FIRE OTHER THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY FOR
NORTHWEST MN.

FREEZING LEVEL REMAINS JUST OVER 10 KFT BUT THIS WILL BE LOW
ENOUGH TO MAKE LARGE HAIL A PROBLEM IN SOME STORMS...PROBABLY NOT
WIDESPREAD BUT WILL INCLUDE MENTION OF HAIL IN NORTHERN AND MN
ZONES EAST OF THE VALLEY.

THE STRONG VORT MOVING NORTHWARD IN EXTREME WESTERN ONTARIO IS
EXPECTED BY MODELS TO ROTATE AROUND TO REVISIT VALLEY REGION AGAIN
LATE TONIGHT SO WILL KEEP SCATTERED SHOWERS GOING ALL NIGHT. EXPECT
THAT THERE WILL BE MORE OF THESE APPEARING AS SPOKES ON THE UPPER
LOW...PROBABLY ROTATING INTO AREA INTO SAT ALONG WITH RELATIVELY
HIGH MOISTURE. WILL MAINTAIN THE MENTION OF SHOWERS INTO SAT AS
CURRENTLY STATED. COLD AIR ALOFT WILL LIKELY SLIDE FAR ENOUGH
EASTWARD THAT THUNDER IS LESS LIKELY BY SAT.

.FGF...NONE.

GV

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 30, 5:50 AM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-301430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
650 AM CDT WED JUL 30 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST
CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE PORTION
OF NORTHWEST AND WESTCENTRAL MINNESOTA JUST EAST OF THE RED RIVER
VALLEY BEGINNING IN EARLY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING INTO EARLY
EVENING. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED OVER THE
NORTH PORTION OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY. ONE CAN EXPECT MAINLY LARGE
HAIL AND A FEW DOWNBURSTS CAUSING HIGH WIND IN THESE THUNDERSTORMS
DUE TO A COLD UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING SOUTH FROM
MANITOBA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THERE IS A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE
REGION...MAINLY ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND THEY
MAY DEVELOP AGAIN OVER THE MINNESOTA PORTION ON FRIDAY. THE NEXT
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE IN AND WESTWARD FROM THE RED
RIVER VALLEY ON TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

GV

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 30, 9:16 AM CST, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
1016 AM CDT WED JUL 30 2003

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

0600 PM    10 S ZERKEL               MN   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/29/03   CLEARWATER

0629 PM    15 NW BEMIDJI             MN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/29/03   BELTRAMI                       LARGE HAIL FOR 3 MINUTES

0657 PM    BLACKDUCK                 MN   70 MPH WIND GUST
07/29/03   BELTRAMI                       REPORTED BY TRAINED
                                          SPOTTER.

0707 PM    BENEDICT                  MN   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/29/03   HUBBARD                        REPORTED BY TRAINED
                                          SPOTTER.

GJG

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 155 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:25 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Clearwater

When: July 30, 9:25 AM CST
Where: Clearwater County, 6 mi S of Shevlin
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.450, -95.267

Hail, Beltrami

When: July 30, 9:35 AM CST
Where: Beltrami County, 7 mi SW of Solway
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.450, -95.233

Hail, Hubbard

When: July 30, 10:27 AM CST
Where: Hubbard County, 1 mi S of Laporte
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.200, -94.767

Hail, Hubbard

When: July 30, 10:33 AM CST
Where: Hubbard County, Laporte
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.217, -94.767

Hail, Otter Tail

When: July 30, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Otter Tail County, 8 mi SE of Erhard
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.400, -95.983

Thunderstorm Wind, Otter Tail

When: July 30, 5:55 PM CST
Where: Otter Tail County, 1 mi S of Phelps
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.367, -95.817

6 to 8 inch diameter branches were blown down.

Hail, Otter Tail

When: July 30, 6:28 PM CST
Where: Otter Tail County, 1 mi S of Henning
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.300, -95.433

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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: 5377621, 5377622, 5377623, 5377624, 5377898, 5377899, 5377900.