Flash Flood and Hail in Minnesota, August 3, 2005

Name: Flash Flood and Hail in Minnesota, August 3, 2005
Start: 2005-08-03T01:15
End: 2005-08-03T12:00
Location: Minnesota

August 3, 2005 · NWS FGF · 9 events in 3 counties and zones

5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 flash flood, 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: 9

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 Aug 2, 7:45 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 2, 7:45 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
845 PM CDT TUE AUG 2 2005

.DISCUSSION...ALREADY UPDATED ZONES AND WEBPAGE FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH. ONE LONE SUPERCELL TRANSITIONING INTO A BOW ECHO
IS RACING THROUGH BENSON AND TOWNER COUNTIES AT THIS TIME. WIND
REPORTS OUT OF RUGBY SHOW THE STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH ALONG WITH UP TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL. THIS STORM WILL
CONTINUE TO TRACK SE AHEAD OF AN ADVANCING SHORTWAVE AND ALONG A
COLD FRONT. ADDITIONAL STORMS ARE GETTING FIRED UP NORTH OF A
SURFACE LOW NEAR MOBRIDGE SD ALSO IN ADVANCE OF THE SHORTWAVE IN NE
WY. THE COMPLEX IN NRN SD SHOULD TRACK NE AND ALSO PRODUCE HAIL AND
STRONG WINDS. THE CURRENT FORECAST HAS MOST OF THIS SCENARIO WELL IN
HAND...WITH ONLY A LITTLE TWEAKING NEEDED TO REFLECT CURRENT TRENDS.

--------------------PREVIOUS DISCUSSION------------------

.SHORT TERM...
LOOKING LIKE THUNDERSTORMS A GOOD BET TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING INTO
THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.  SFC LOW WEST OF MOBRIDGE WILL MOVE EAST TOWARD
ABERDEEN BY NEAR MIDNIGHT.  WHILE LOW LEVEL JET IS ONLY ABOUT 20
KTS...EXTREME INSTABILITY AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE (DEW PTS POOLING NR
75 THIS EVENING) WILL INTERACT WITH APPROACHING 500 MB SHORT WAVE TO
GENERATE TSTM CLUSTER TO OUR WEST THIS EVENING...SPREADING INTO
PARTS OF THE FCST AREA AFTER 02Z WITH BEST PARAMETERS AROUND 06Z AS
CAP WEAKENS AND MID LEVEL TEMPS COOL SOME OVER ERN ND.  ISSUED
UPDATED HWO FOR TONIGHT.

PREV FCST GRIDS HAD GOOD HANDLE ON THINGS AND WILL MAKE MINIMAL
CHANGES TO FCST.  ALL SHORT RANGE MODELS SHOWING PCPN BEHIND THE
FRONT ON WEDNESDAY ASSOC WITH 300 MB JET ON FRONT SIDE OF 500 MB
TROUGH IN SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA.  THREAT FOR PCPN TO END LATE WED
AFTN IN ERN ND AND WED EVE IN NW MN.  WILL USE SLIGHTLY SLOWER GFS
SOLN FOR TIMING IN REGARDS TO WIND FIELDS IN GRIDS.

HIGH PRESSURE AND MUCH DRIER AIRMASS TO MOVE INTO THE AREA THURSDAY
INTO FRIDAY WITH HIGH PRESSURE.

.LONG TERM (SAT-TUE)...FLAT NORTHWEST FLOW TO BEGIN PERIOD
TRANSITIONS TO MORE ZONAL FLOW DURING SUNDAY PERSISTING THROUGH
TUESDAY. TWO CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION EXIST FOR THIS PERIOD...THE
FIRST ON SATURDAY...FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER ON MONDAY. NEITHER OF THESE
SYSTEMS APPEAR TO OFFER MUCH OF ANY THREAT FOR PRECIPITATION. A
TREND TOWARD LOWER TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD...NEAR NORMAL TO
START...SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE BY TUESDAY.

&&

.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH OVERNIGHT...WITH EXCEPTION OF A
REMOTE THUNDERSTORM WHICH WOULD OCCUR FROM LATE EVENING THROUGH
MIDNIGHT. FRONTAL PASSAGE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING TO BE ACCOMPANIED
BY A FEW SHOWERS AND WIND SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST.

&&

.FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ND...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 1 AM NORTH OF HWY 200.
MN...NONE.

&&

RIDDLE/JCA

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 2, 1:30 PM CST, 11 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
230 PM CDT TUE AUG 2 2005

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-031127-
BARNES ND-BENSON ND-CASS ND-CAVALIER ND-CLAY MN-EAST BECKER MN-
EAST MARSHALL MN-EAST OTTER TAIL MN-EAST POLK MN-
EASTERN WALSH COUNTY ND-EDDY ND-GRAND FORKS ND-GRANT MN-GRIGGS ND-
HUBBARD MN-KITTSON MN-LAKE OF THE WOODS MN-MAHNOMEN MN-NELSON ND-
NORMAN MN-NORTH BELTRAMI MN-NORTH CLEARWATER MN-PEMBINA ND-
PENNINGTON MN-RAMSEY ND-RANSOM ND-RED LAKE MN-RICHLAND ND-ROSEAU MN-
SARGENT ND-SOUTH BELTRAMI MN-SOUTH CLEARWATER MN-STEELE ND-TOWNER ND-
TRAILL ND-WADENA MN-WEST BECKER MN-WEST MARSHALL MN-
WEST OTTER TAIL MN-WEST POLK MN-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY ND-WILKIN MN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BEMIDJI...DETROIT LAKES...DEVILS LAKE...
FARGO...FERGUS FALLS...GRAFTON...GRAND FORKS...LANGDON...ROSEAU...
THIEF RIVER FALLS...VALLEY CITY AND WAHPETON
230 PM CDT TUE AUG 2 2005

...A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS TONIGHT ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AFTER 9 PM TONIGHT OVER EASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA WEST OF A BAUDETTE TO MAHNOMEN
TO FERGUS FALLS LINE.

A UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE OVER WYOMING WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST
NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING AND THEN ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND
INTO NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AFTER MIDNIGHT.  THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY
MOIST AND UNSTABLE...BUT THERE EXISTS A WARM LAYER ALOFT.  THIS WARM
LAYER WILL PREVENT THUNDERSTORMS FROM DEVELOPING LATE THIS AFTERNOON
OR EARLY EVENING.  BUT AS THE UPPER WAVE MOVES TOWARD THE AREA LATER
THIS EVENING...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER EASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA TOWARD MIDNIGHT...THEN MOVE INTO NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
LATE TONIGHT.  THE EXACT EVOLUTION AND COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS
NOT CERTAIN...BUT ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL LIKELY BECOME
SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN THREAT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE REGION WEDNESDAY
ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST WEDNESDAY EVENING. AT THIS TIME NONE OF
THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT.

RIDDLE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 2, 7:16 PM CST, 5 hours 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
816 PM CDT TUE AUG 02 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 PM     HAIL             7 W KNOX                48.34N 99.84W
08/02/2005  0.75 INCH        PIERCE             ND   PUBLIC

&&

KENNEDY

Local storm report, Aug 2, 7:16 PM CST, 5 hours 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
816 PM CDT TUE AUG 02 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 PM     HAIL             6 W KNOX                48.34N 99.84W
08/02/2005  0.75 INCH         BENSON            ND   PUBLIC

&&

KENNEDY

Special weather statement, Aug 2, 9:59 PM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes before

EXPERIMENTAL...WATCH COUNTY NOTIFICATION FOR WATCH 698
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
1059 PM CDT TUE AUG 2 2005

NDC005-019-027-035-039-063-067-071-091-095-097-099-030459-
/E.CAN.KFGF.SV.A.0698.000000T0000Z-050803T0600Z/

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 698 CANCELLED...

IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 9 COUNTIES

BENSON                CAVALIER              EDDY
GRAND FORKS           NELSON                PEMBINA
RAMSEY                TOWNER                WALSH

IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES

GRIGGS                STEELE                TRAILL

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF DEVILS LAKE...GRAFTON...GRAND FORKS AND
LANGDON.

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 154 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Wilkin

When: August 3, 1:15 AM CST
Where: Wilkin County, 2 mi NW of Everdell
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.283, -96.450

Hail, Otter Tail

When: August 3, 1:25 AM CST
Where: Otter Tail County, 9 mi W of Fergus Falls
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.283, -96.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilkin

When: August 3, 1:55 AM CST to 2:00 AM CST
Where: Wilkin County, Tenney
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.050, -96.450

Strong winds snapped trees and downed power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilkin

When: August 3, 2:05 AM CST
Where: Wilkin County, Campbell
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.100, -96.400

Many 4 inch diameter tree branches were blown down. 2.46 inches of rain was also reported.

Thunderstorm Wind, Grant

When: August 3, 2:20 AM CST
Where: Grant County, 4 mi NNW of Wendell
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.083, -96.133

Large tree branches were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Otter Tail

When: August 3, 2:40 AM CST to 2:50 AM CST
Where: Otter Tail County, 2 mi W of Dalton
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 46.167, -95.950

A tree was blown down near mile post 66 on Interstate 94.

Thunderstorm Wind, Grant

When: August 3, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Grant County, 5 mi ENE of Barrett
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.950, -95.800

Large branches were blown down.

Hail, Grant

When: August 3, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Grant County, 5 mi ENE of Barrett
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.950, -95.800

Flash Flood, Wilkin

When: August 3, 3:15 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Wilkin County, 1 mi W of Doran
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 46.183, -96.500

Two to four inches of rain caused the Doran Slough to flood. The slough spread across fields and farm access roads mainly south of county highway 158 and west of U.S. Highway 75. Roadbed and field erosion was evident southward to state highway 55.

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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, August 2005

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: 5472005, 5472006, 5472007, 5472008, 5472009, 5472010, 5472011, 5472012, 5472074.