Minnesota, 2004

Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 21, 2004

July 21, 2004 · NWS DLH · 3 events in 1 county or zone

3 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
3

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 2:42 PM CST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 2:42 PM CST, 4 hours 58 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
342 PM CDT WED JUL 21 2004

.DISCUSSION...FORECAST CONCERN WILL REMAIN ON TSTMS TONIGHT.

AN EARLY FALL PATTERN IS SETTING UP ACROSS THE CENTRAL USA.
UPR LVL TROF IS DEEPENING ACROSS CENTRAL CANADA AND THE
NORTHLAND.  A 993MB LOW CENTERED ACROSS WRN ONTARIO...HAS A STRONG
ACTIVE COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHWEST ACROSS EXTRM SRN MANITOBA.
TSTMS ARE FIRING ALONG THE FRONT AND ARE CROSSING THE N DAKOTA
BORDER. UPR LVL JET ORIENTED NEARLY PARALLEL TO FRONT SO DO NOT
EXPECT ASSCD TSTMS TO MAKE IT COMPLETELY THROUGH OUR CWA THIS
EVENING.  TROF BEHIND COLD FRONT WILL SWING A BIT FURTHER SOUTH
AND HAVE NOTED SHOWERS WITH THIS IN FCST.  ANOTHER AREA OF
CONCERN IS W CNTRL TO SW MINNESOTA WHERE SEVERE TSTMS ARE
OCCURRING.  WILL KEEP AN EYE ON SW PORTION OF OUR CWA FOR THESE
STORMS.
TOMORROW...COOLER AND DRIER WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE STATE WITH
DEEPENING TROUGH.  SOME DESTABILIZATION WILL OCCUR WITH ASSCD COOLER
AIR AND SFC HEATING FOR CU FIELDS ACROSS THE NORTH.  HAVE
INCLUDED CHANCES FOR SHOWERS ACROSS ARROWHEAD AS IT WILL LIE
UNDER RGN OF SLIGHTLY STRONGER LIFT.
TOMORROW EVENING...CLEARING SKIES AND UNSEASONABLY COOL
LOW TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE RULE ACROSS NRN MINNESOTA.

EXTENDED...PATTERN WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND EARLY
NEXT WEEK...AS TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL AND
NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EXPECTED.

.DLH...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.

LT
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 21, 3:01 PM CST, 4 hours 39 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
401 PM CDT WED JUL 21 2004

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-221230-
ASHLAND-BAYFIELD-BURNETT-C. ST. LOUIS-CROW WING-DOUGLAS-IRON-
KOOCHICHING-N. AITKIN-N. CASS-N. ITASCA-N. LAKE/N. COOK-N. ST. LOUIS-
PINE-PRICE-S. AITKIN-S. CASS-S. COOK/LAKESHORE-S. ITASCA-
S. LAKE/LAKESHORE-S. ST. LOUIS/CARLTON-SAWYER-WASHBURN-
401 PM CDT WED JUL 21 2004

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE ENTIRE REGION TODAY
AND TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...MAINLY DURING THE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.  THE AREA OF MOST CONCERN INCLUDES THE
BRAINERD LAKES REGION AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN...THE TWIN PORTS AREA
AND THE ARROWHEAD OF MINNESOTA. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WILL BE LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...BUT AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED
OUT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL:

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

LJT

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis

When
July 21, 7:40 PM CST
Where
St. Louis County, 10 mi S of Orr
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.900, -92.833

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis

When
July 21, 7:55 PM CST
Where
St. Louis County, 3 mi S of Tower
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.750, -92.283

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis

When
July 21, 8:30 PM CST
Where
St. Louis County, 18 mi S of Ely
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.633, -91.867

Fifteen to twenty large pine trees were blown down between along the road between Ely and four miles north of babbitt. The winds last 5 to 8 minutes.

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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 2004

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: 5417181, 5417182, 5417183.