Flood and Hail in Minnesota, May 7 to 8, 2004

Name: Flood and Hail in Minnesota, May 7 to 8, 2004
Start: 2004-05-07T23:30
End: 2004-05-08T02:00
Location: Minnesota

May 7 to 8, 2004 · NWS MPX · 7 events in 2 counties and zones

6 hail, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 7, 2:16 PM CST, 9 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 7, 2:16 PM CST, 9 hours 14 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
300 PM FRI MAY 7 2004

.DISCUSSION...
GFS AND ETA IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT TONIGHT WARM FRONT POSITION
TONIGHT. THERE IS A CONTINUED TREND FOR UPPER DIV AREA DEVELOPING
OVER SE MN THIS EVENING...ALONG WITH STRONG THETA E ADVECTION/DIFF
TEMP ADVECTION. COULD BE TRICKY THOUGH..IF MAIN ACTION FORMS ALONG
MAIN SURFACE BOUNDARY. WOULD THINK THAT ELEVATED CONVECTION WILL GET
GOING IN PART  OUR SE CWA LATER THIS EVENING...WITH DIFLUENT
THICKNESS PATTERN TAKING THIS ESE LATE TONIGHT OR SAT MORNING. STILL
LOOKS LIKE WEAK RIDGING WILL PROVIDE A BREAK IN THE ACTION MOST OF
SATURDAY. STG SSE LOW REDEVELOPS SAT NIGHT AS LOW PRES STARTS TO
MAKE A MOVE TOWARD THE CWA. MOST WIDESPREAD CONVECTION OVER CWA
SHOULD BE WITH THIS EVENT. ETA LOOKED A LITTLE FAST PUSHING THE
SYSTEM THROUGH ON SUDNAY...GFS LOOKS A LITTLE BETTER. SEEMS AS
THOUGH COLD FRONTS HARDLY EVER GO THROUGH EASTERN MINNESOTA MID
DAY...IN LATE SPRING/SUMMER...ALTHOUGH WE ARE STILL NOT QUITE IN
THAT CLIMO REGIME YET. WITH THIS IN MIND..OUR BEST CHC OF SVR WILL
LIKELY BE ON SUNDAY..AT LEAST E CWA. HINT OF POSSIBLE TRIPLE POINT
OVER E MN.

TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY FOR SUNDAY...IF ENOUGH SUN AFTER MORNING
CONVECTION..COULD BE WELL INTO 80S. WILL GO LOW 80S S MN FOR NOW.

IN THE LONGER TERM...NCEP MODEL ENSEMBLE..ECMWF AND CANADIAN COMING
INTO CONSENSUS WITH TRANSITION FROM A SPLIT UPPER FLOW OVER NORTH
AMERICA/NORTHERN PLAINS THAT IS IN PLACE NOW TO A LONGWAVE TROUGH OR
PHASING OF BOTH THE NORTH/SOUTHERN JET STREAMS BY TUESDAY.  BY
WEDNESDAY...A FULL LATITUDE LONGWAVE TROUGH DEVELOPS AND STRENGTHENS
OVER THE NATIONS MIDSECTION. A VERY PROMISING WEATHER PATTERN TO END
DROUGHT CONDITIONS.  RETREATING UPPER RIDGE OVER SOUTHERN
PLAINS...MOVING OFF INTO THE ATLANTIC.  THIS WILL ALLOW FOR MOISTURE
LADEN AIR TO FEED NORTHWARD INTO THE MIDWEST.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.

&&

JPR/MBK

Hazardous weather outlook, May 7, 8:45 AM CST, 14 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED SECOND SECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
945 AM CDT FRI MAY 7 2004

MNZ041>045-047>052-054>059-064-081000-
BENTON-CHIPPEWA-DOUGLAS-ISANTI-KANABEC-KANDIYOHI-LAC QUI PARLE-
MEEKER-MILLE LACS-MORRISON-POPE-SHERBURNE-STEARNS-STEVENS-SWIFT-TODD-
WRIGHT-YELLOW MEDICINE-
945 AM CDT FRI MAY 7 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WILL
BEGIN TO INTERACT WITH A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER THE
MIDWEST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM IS LIKELY TO TRIGGER
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE UPPER MIDWEST...MAINLY
DURING THE NIGHTTIME AND MORNING HOURS. A FEW SEVERE STORMS ARE
POSSIBLE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN SEVERE THREATS.

ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM...WILL TAKE SHAPE OVER THE EASTERN ROCKIES
TUESDAY. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TUESDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY. HEAVY RAINS...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE
POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

MNZ053-060>063-065>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-
081000-
ANOKA-BARRON-BLUE EARTH-BROWN-CARVER-CHIPPEWA-CHISAGO-DAKOTA-DUNN-
EAU CLAIRE-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-GOODHUE-HENNEPIN-LE SUEUR-MARTIN-
MCLEOD-NICOLLET-PEPIN-PIERCE-POLK-RAMSEY-REDWOOD-RENVILLE-RICE-RUSK-
SCOTT-SIBLEY-ST CROIX-STEELE-WASECA-WASHINGTON-WATONWAN-
945 AM CDT FRI MAY 7 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
AND EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY...HOWEVER THERE IS A SLIGHT
RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER TONIGHT OVER PARTS OF SOUTH
CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN
TONIGHT.  THE MAIN SEVERE THREAT IS LARGE HAIL. A FRONTAL BOUNDARY
THAT HAD STALLED OVER THE MIDWEST...WILL BEGIN TO LIFT NORTH
TONIGHT. THIS FRONT WILL BE MAIN FOCUS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WILL
BEGIN TO INTERACT WITH A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER THE
MIDWEST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM IS LIKELY TO TRIGGER
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER MUCH OF THE UPPER MIDWEST...MAINLY
DURING THE NIGHTTIME AND MORNING HOURS. A FEW SEVERE STORMS ARE
POSSIBLE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN SEVERE THREATS.

ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM...WILL TAKE SHAPE OVER THE EASTERN ROCKIES
TUESDAY. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TUESDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY. HEAVY RAINS...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE
POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TONIGHT.

MBK

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 132 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:28 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Martin

When: May 7, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Martin County, Truman
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.833, -94.433

Flood, Martin

When: May 8, 12:00 AM CST to 2:00 AM CST
Where: Martin forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.674, -94.551 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A church and streets were flooded by heavy downpours.

Hail, Faribault

When: May 8, 12:10 AM CST
Where: Faribault County, 4 mi NE of Winnebago
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.800, -94.117

Hail, Martin

When: May 8, 12:30 AM CST
Where: Martin County, Sherburn
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.650, -94.733

Hail, Martin

When: May 8, 12:40 AM CST
Where: Martin County, Welcome
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.667, -94.633

Hail, Faribault

When: May 8, 12:55 AM CST
Where: Faribault County, 4 mi SW of Winnebago
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.733, -94.217

Hail, Faribault

When: May 8, 1:15 AM CST
Where: Faribault County, Winnebago
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.767, -94.167

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, May 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: 5395510, 5395511, 5395512, 5395513, 5395514, 5395515, 5395516.