16 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 3 tornado, 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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 2, 1:15 AM CST, 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 215 AM CDT MON AUG 2 2004 .DISCUSSION... 07Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA WITH ASSOCIATED INVERTED TROUGH AXIS NORTHWARD INTO EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. FURTHER WEST HIGH PRESSURE WAS EVIDENT VICINITY SOUTHERN SASK PROVINCE INTO MONTANA WITH STRONG PRESSURE RISES EVIDENT OVER EASTERN MT/WESTERN ND. LATEST WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATED STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET RACING SOUTHEAST OVER SOUTHERN CANADA WITH REGION IN FAVORABLE RIGHT REAR QUAD I.E. ENHANCED (UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE) LARGE SCALE ASCENT. EXAMINATION OF KMVX RADAR SHOWED CONVECTION FIRING OVER NORTHERN HALF OF CWFA WEST OF THE VALLEY IN THE VICINITY OF ENHANCED MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE/RESPECTABLE INSTABILITY VALUES. SHORT TERM... EXPECT AREA OF LOW PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED BOUNDARY WITH FEATURE TO SLOWLY SAG SOUTHWARD DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS AS HIGH PRESSURE OVER SOUTHERN CANADA BUILDS INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. EXPECT CONVECTION TO END FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST AS DAY WEARS ON TODAY AS VORTICITY MAXIMA AND INVERTED TROUGH SHUNT OFF TO THE EAST. NEXT CONVECTIVE CHANCE APPEARS TO BE ON TUESDAY. BIG DIFFERENCES NOTED WITH MODELS WITH NEXT SYSTEM. ETA IS WEAKER AND LESS ROBUST ON QPF VALUES WHILE GFS ON THE OTHERHAND IS SLOWER AND MUCH STRONGER WITH THE VORTICITY MAXIMA DROPPING SOUTHEAST FROM SASK PROVINCE. FOR NOW WILL STICK WITH CONTINUITY WITH LOW POP THREAT FOR AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF A DEVILS LAKE TO FARGO LINE. IN CONTRAST IT APPEARS NORTHERN PORTION OF CWFA COULD SEE SOME SUNSHINE AND COOLER TEMPERATURES ON TUESDAY. NO CHANGES TO EXTENDED ATTM. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...NONE. MN...NONE. && BERG
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 605 AM CDT SUN AUG 1 2004 MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-011353- BARNES-BENSON-CASS-CAVALIER-CLAY-EAST BECKER-EAST MARSHALL- EAST OTTER TAIL-EAST POLK-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-GRAND FORKS- GRANT-GRIGGS-HUBBARD-KITTSON-LAKE OF THE WOODS-MAHNOMEN-NELSON- NORMAN-NORTH BELTRAMI-NORTH CLEARWATER-PEMBINA-PENNINGTON-RAMSEY- RANSOM-RED LAKE-RICHLAND-ROSEAU-SARGENT-SOUTH BELTRAMI- SOUTH CLEARWATER-STEELE-TOWNER-TRAILL-WADENA-WEST BECKER- WEST MARSHALL-WEST OTTER TAIL-WEST POLK-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY-WILKIN- 605 AM CDT SUN AUG 1 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY2 WHILE A SLIGHT RISK OF THUNDER IS FORECASTED ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE REGION. STRONG INSTABILITY COUPLED WITH INCREASING MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE AHEAD OF NEXT UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA WILL HELP TO TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVITY BY LATE EVENING OVER THE AREA. THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BEGIN ALONG AND WEST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY AFTER 9PM AND THEN TRACK EASTWARD INTO MINNESOTA DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE OVERNIGHT. ANY SEVERE STORM WILL CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...WIND DAMAGE AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ACROSS THE SOUTH IN THE MODERATE RISK AREA. THE CAUSE FOR ALL THIS UNSETTLED WEATHER IS LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTH DAKOTA AND ASSOCIATED WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THIS FEATURE IS EXPECTED TO LIFT NORTHWARD LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT IN THE FORM OF AN INVERTED TROUGH. THIS TROUGH SHOULD INTERACT WITH INSTABILITY IN PLACE ALONG WITH AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO LINGER ACROSS THE REGION ON MONDAY ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST IN THE AFTERNOON. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM CHANCES LOOM ON THE HORIZON TUESDAY AND AGAIN FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT. BERG
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:06 UTC.
16 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A brief touchdown was seen from the Rothsay truck stop.
A 71 mph wind gust was measured at the MNDOT RWIS site near Rothsay.
Numerous large trees were uprooted or snapped off. A large evergreen was embedded in the north side of the Trondhjem township hall. A road sign was also twisted along 360th street near county road 21. A corn crib was thrown about 100 feet across a road and demolished. Power poles were also snapped off.
Large branches were blown down. This was part of an intermittent downburst wind pattern found from Rothsay to near Parkers Prairie.
Trees and branches were blown down on the east side of Fergus Falls. The entire northeast side of town also lost power.
Tree damage occurred at Wall Lake, east of Fergus Falls. The strong wind also blew around docks, boats, and boat lifts.
Trees were blown down and power was out for nearly 8 hours. Pontoon boats were flipped over at Pickerel Lake.
The hail fell near Pickerel Lake.
The tornado tracked from the Pickerel Lake area, across Ottertail Lake, to around 2 miles southwest of Ottertail. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off. Boat lifts and docks were strewn around the lake shores. Downed trees fell on the roofs of several homes. Power poles were snapped off causing widespread power outages. Several people reported a loud "freight train" sound.
Power outages occurred as a result of widespread tree damage and downed power lines. This was part of intermittent downburst wind damage from Rothsay to near Parkers Prairie.
Trees were blown over on the west shore of West Battle Lake.
Many trees were blown down at Glendalough State Park. Trees fell on roads and on a canoe rack loaded with canoes. The park closed for about 4 days for cleanup. Trees fell on tents at two different camp sites, although no injuries were reported.
Numerous trees were blown over along highway 78 near Balmoral Golf Course. The highway was closed while the trees and some downed power lines were cleaned up. At the golf course, 150 trees were blown down. One tree fell on the cart shed.
Strong winds ripped the roof off a building and sent debris about a half-mile downwind.
Trees were uprooted on the shoreline of East Battle Lake.
Several trees fell at the Lutheran Island Camp on East Battle Lake, knocking down power lines. Trees also fell on a piece of playground equipment, a cabin, and two cars.
Twelve power poles were knocked down around Parkers Prairie because of falling trees. Roughly 6300 customers were without power. Trees fell on several homes and on a nursing home roof. A fertilizer storage shed was also blown over. The high school football field scoreboard was blown off its support poles and was thrown several hundred feet away. The baseball scoreboard was twisted and a nearby storage shed was blown through a chainlink fence and flipped over. Shingle damage was also reported throughout town. This was part of intermittent downburst wind damage that was reported from Rothsay to Parkers Prairie.
The Rothsay MNDOT RWIS site reported a 58 mph wind gust.
The gust was measured by a Davis wind system.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Minnesota, 2004Warnings in Minnesota, August 2004
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: 5420779, 5420780, 5420781, 5420782, 5420783, 5420784, 5420878, 5420785, 5420786, 5420787, 5420788, 5420789, 5420879, 5420880, 5420881, 5420882, 5420876, 5420877, 5420871, 5420872, 5420873, 5420874, 5420875.