1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 Jul 11, 3:35 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 435 AM CDT SUN JUL 11 2004 .DISCUSSION... SIGNIFICANT S/W TROUGH PROVIDING WIDESPREAD ENHANCED SYNOPTIC LIFT IN COMBINATION WITH FAIRLY STRONG MOISTURE ADVECTION AND CONVERGENCE IN GENERATING WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MN COUNTY WARNING AREA IN LAST FOUR HOURS. HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION LINING UP FAIRLY WELL WITH STRONGEST 850-700MB THETE-E ADVECTION. LATEST LAPS SHOW FAIRLY HIGH FREEZING LEVELS /OVER 14K/ HWVR PWAT RUNNING ABT 1.8 INCHES. NEED TO WATCH FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL NEXT FEW HOURS ESPECIALLY IN AREA OF STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARY RUNNING FROM VNCTY OF KMML NE TO KSTC. WOOD LAKE WIND PROFILER SHOWING 30 TO 35 KT LOW LEVEL JET WHICH LATEST RUC GUIDANCE SHOWS NOSE INTO CENTRAL MN THRU 11Z...BUT GRADUAL WEAKENING AFT THAT. CONVECTION SHOULD GRADUALLY DIMINISH AND MOVE EWD THRU THE MRNG...ENDING IN THE WRN AREAS SHORTLY...AND AROUND KMSP AROUND LATE MRNG/EARLY AFTN. NOTICED THAT PRECIP ALSO LINING UP FAIRLY WELL WITH 600MB TOTAL DEFORMATION EXITS WI CWA LATE AFTN/EARLY EVE. WEAKER UPSTREAM S/W OVER ERN MT MAY PROVIDE ENOUGH LIFT LATER THIS AFTN FOR ISOLD CONVECTION IN PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL MN AS AIRMASS EXPECTED TO RECUPERATE AND BCM FAIRLY UNSTABLE WITH OVER 2000 J/KG AND LITTLE CAP. LAST TWO RUNS OF THE ETA SHOW LOW LEVEL JET REFOCUSING ON THE EASTERN DAKOTAS LATER TNGT WITH STRONG LOW LEVEL MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE. PSBL MCS THEN WOULD SLIDE SOUTHEAST ACROSS PTNS OF NRN/ERN CWA MON MRNG. LINGERING OUTFLOW BOUNDARY TO INTERSECT FAIRLY UNSTABLE AND UNCAPPED ATMOSPHERE MON AFTN AND EVE SO WL CONT THREAT OF CONVECTION...AND SPREAD IT EWD AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHIFTS THRU BY 12Z TUE. HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT...LIGHT WINDS AND CLOUD COVER SHOULD KEEP HIGH TEMPS NEAR OR SLIGHTLY BLO GUIDANCE. NO CHANGES TO EXTENDED PERIOD AT THIS TIME. .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...NONE. WI...NONE. && MBK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 1205 PM CDT SAT JUL 10 2004 MNZ041>043-047>050-054>058-064-065-073-111100- BENTON-CHIPPEWA-DOUGLAS-KANDIYOHI-LAC QUI PARLE-MEEKER-MORRISON-POPE- REDWOOD-RENVILLE-STEARNS-STEVENS-SWIFT-TODD-YELLOW MEDICINE- 1205 PM CDT SAT JUL 10 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE EASTERN DAKOTAS...AND SPREAD INTO WESTERN AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WIND...AND A SECONDARY THREAT OF LARGE HAIL. THERE IS AN ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT IN FAR WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING IF STORMS DEVELOP IN THIS AREA BETWEEN 4 AND 7 PM...BUT THE MORE LIKELY SCENARIO WILL BE FOR THE STORMS TO DEVELOP IN THE EASTERN DAKOTAS...AND CLUSTER TOGETHER AS THEY MOVE INTO WESTERN AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA AFTER 7 PM. WITH VERY MOIST AIR IN PLACE...ANY THUNDERSTORM THIS EVENING OR TONIGHT...COULD PRODUCE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS...AND LOCALIZED FLOODING. SMALL STREAMS...DRAINAGE DITCHES...AND LOW LYING AREAS WILL BE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO THIS TYPE OF FLOODING. THESE DANGERS ARE VERY HARD TO SEE AT NIGHT...SO MOTORISTS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE DANGER OF WATER OVER ROADWAYS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY MORE THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST...AND ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MAY FORM IN THE DAKOTAS...AND MOVE INTO WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA LATER SUNDAY NIGHT...AND MONDAY. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE AND PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. OTHERWISE NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING. MNZ044-045-051>053-059>063-066>070-074>078-082>085-091>093- WIZ014>016-023>028-111100- ANOKA-BARRON-BLUE EARTH-BROWN-CARVER-CHIPPEWA-CHISAGO-DAKOTA-DUNN- EAU CLAIRE-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-GOODHUE-HENNEPIN-ISANTI-KANABEC- LE SUEUR-MARTIN-MCLEOD-MILLE LACS-NICOLLET-PEPIN-PIERCE-POLK-RAMSEY- RICE-RUSK-SCOTT-SHERBURNE-SIBLEY-ST CROIX-STEELE-WASECA-WASHINGTON- WATONWAN-WRIGHT- 1205 PM CDT SAT JUL 10 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA LATE THIS EVENING OR AFTER MIDNIGHT. WHILE AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE...WITH DAMAGING WIND OR LARGE HAIL...THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAIN...WHICH COULD CAUSE SOME LOCALIZED FLOODING PROBLEMS IN URBAN AREAS OR POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THURSDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL OR DAMAGING WINDS. A MORE LIKELY THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAIN AND LOCALIZED FLOODING. PERSONS ARE URGED TO LISTEN TO THE LATEST FORECASTS AND UPDATED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS. OTHERWISE...NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL PROBABLY NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT...BUT SPOTTERS SHOULD MONITOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS EVENING AND LATER HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOKS. BINAU
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:49 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike started a fire that destroyed a storage tank holding 60,000 gallons of heavy industrial oil at a petroleum refinery. A second storage tank was damaged.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 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: 5414291.