Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, August 13, 2007

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, August 13, 2007
Start: 2007-08-13T17:40
End: 2007-08-13T19:54
Location: Minnesota

August 13, 2007 · NWS DLH · 24 events in 3 counties and zones

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: 24

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 happened

The episode as NWS DLH wrote it up.

A warm front and unstable air mass combined to produce severe thunderstorms across southern Cass, Crow Wing, and Pine counties during the evening hours of August 13. A fast-moving severe thunderstorm in the Brainerd area brought large hail and winds up to 60 mph that downed hundreds of trees and damaged homes. Several businesses reported roof damage and a two-story structure at a local speedway collapsed. Docks along several lakes in Crow Wing County also reported damage. At least 7,700 customers lost power in the Brainerd Lakes region, according to Crow Wing Power.

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 Aug 13, 2:18 PM CST, 3 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 2:18 PM CST, 3 hours 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
318 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

.DISCUSSION...MAIN FORECAST FOCUS IS ON POSSIBLE SEVERE CONVECTIVE
EVENT TONIGHT. CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS DEPICTS MAIN LOW PRESSURE
CENTERED OVER THE CENTRAL DAKOTAS. DEWPOINTS ACROSS DLH FA JUST
NOW STARTING TO CLIMB SLOWLY THIS AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO
INCREASING SOUTHERLY FLOW. MAIN WARM FRONT AND MOISTURE AXIS STILL
LOCATED ACROSS ND/SD BORDER INTO WEST CENTRAL MN...AND SE ACROSS
SOUTHERN MN. EARLY NE NODAK STRONG CONVECTION HAS MOSTLY
DISSIPATED UNDER STRONG CAP. HOWEVER STRONG NE ND SUPERCELL
WHICH INITIATED AHEAD OF SHORT WAVE /CURRENTLY SEEN ON WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY OVER NODAK/ HAS SUSTAINED ITSELF NORTH OF THE MAIN SFC
WARM FRONT. COVERAGE OF CONVECTION SHOULD INCREASE THIS EVENING
ALONG NOSE OF DEVELOPING LLJ WITH WARM/MOIST AIR ADVECTING TOWARD
EDGE OF CAP INTO W AND SW ZONES. SEVERE SUPERCELLS WILL BE
POSSIBLE GIVEN STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR...AND INCREASING
INSTABILITY THIS EVENING /ESPECIALLY ACROSS SW/. SOME STORMS WILL
PROGRESS ESE WITH THICKNESS GRADIENT...WITH THE STRONGER STORMS
LIKELY MOVING SE ALONG THE MAIN MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY GRADIENT.
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT LOOKS TO PUSH THROUGH THE DLH AREA TOMORROW
MORNING...WITH POSSIBLE LINGERING SHOWERS/TSTMS IN THE MORNING
ACROSS EASTERN FA.

FAST NORTHWEST FLOW PATTERN KEEPS FORECAST UNCERTAIN THROUGH MID
WEEK AS MAIN BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY REMAINS IN VICINITY. WILL LEAVE ANY
POPS OUT AT THIS TIME...BUT WILL NEED TO MONITOR MODEL TRENDS OF
WEAK SHORT WAVES IN FLOW ALOFT. SIGNIFICANT COLD FRONT WILL PUSH
THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS CLOSED LOW SKIRTS ACROSS ONTARIO...AND
HAVE MAINTAINED SMALL POPS ALONG WITH THIS FEATURE. COOL AND DRY
CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEHIND COLD FRONT...WITH SEASONABLY
COOLS TEMPERATURES ON THE WAY FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ACROSS THE
NORTHLAND.

&&

.AVIATION...A COLD FRONT WILL TRACK EAST ACROSS THE UPPER
MIDWEST...PRODUCING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH MVFR-IFR CIGS AND
VSBYS ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. AREAS OF LOWER
CLOUDS WITH MVFR CIGS WILL LINGER OVER PARTS OF THE NORTHLAND
TUESDAY MORNING...THEN DISSIPATE BY MIDDAY. WINDS WILL SHIFT OUT
OF THE WEST AND NORTHWEST TONIGHT OR TUESDAY MORNING AFTER THE
FRONT PASSES.

&&

POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DLH  60  79  51  77 /  50  10  10  10
INL  56  75  45  75 /  40  10  10  10
BRD  62  82  53  83 /  50  10  10  10
HYR  65  84  50  83 /  60  20  10  10
ASX  62  78  51  80 /  50  20  10  10

&&

.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

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

LILES/BERDES

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 13, 2:32 PM CST, 3 hours 8 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
332 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

LSZ121-140>148-162-MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-
006>009-141030-
BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN-
GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN-
TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN-
SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN-
DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI-
SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI-
OPEN WATERS OF LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI
TO GRAND PORTAGE MN-KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-
NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-
SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE-SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-
SOUTHERN ITASCA-SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-
SOUTHERN AITKIN-CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-
ASHLAND-IRON-BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE-
332 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

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

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA...
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA
THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE...MAINLY
THIS EVENING. THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE
SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM INTERNATIONAL FALLS TO DULUTH
MINNESOTA...AND TO PARK FALLS WISCONSIN. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY HAZARDS WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND AGAIN OVER THE
WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING AND
TONIGHT.

LILES

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 179 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:41 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When: August 13, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Cass County, Pillager
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.330, -94.480

Mnay 30-foot tall trees were blown down by the strong thunderstorm winds.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 7 mi WNW of Pillager
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.369, -94.615

There was also wind damage with at least ten 18-inch diameter trees blown down.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 4 mi N of Lake Shr
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.578, -94.350

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 5:58 PM CST
Where: Cass County, Leader
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.530, -94.650

The hail covered the ground.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 1 mi NE of Sylvan
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.340, -94.405

Thunderstorm Wind, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 4 mi SW of Brainerd
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.329, -94.259

Two large trees were blown down by strong thunderstorm winds.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:08 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 6 mi N of Pillager
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.417, -94.480

Wind gusts to 50 knots were also recorded.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:09 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 2 mi NW of Sylvan
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.350, -94.450

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 1 mi S of Gull Lake
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.386, -94.380

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 4 mi SSE of Crow Wing
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.227, -94.248

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When: August 13, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Cass County, Pillager
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.330, -94.480

Two 18-inch diameter trees were blown down by the strong thunderstorm winds.

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:11 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, Brainerd
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.370, -94.200

A wind gust to 50 knots was also recorded.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 2 mi ENE of Pillager
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.341, -94.441

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 10 mi S of Brainerd
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.225, -94.200

The hail covered the ground. A six-inch diameter oak tree was blown down by strong thunderstorm winds.

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:16 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 1 mi E of Sylvan
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.330, -94.399

Hail, Cass

When: August 13, 6:18 PM CST
Where: Cass County, 4 mi ESE of Sylvan
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.308, -94.343

Several twelve to fourteen inch diameter trees were blown. Vehicles were damaged from from hail and fallen trees.

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:20 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 8 mi SW of Brainerd
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.288, -94.318

Thunderstorm Wind, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:21 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, Brainerd
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 46.370, -94.200

Hundreds of trees were blown down. SOme homes were damaged by falling trees and limbs.

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 2 mi N of Baxter
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.379, -94.280

In addition to the hail, trees blown down by strong thunderstorm winds at County Highway 177 and Highway 49.

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, Ft Ripley
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.170, -94.370

Hail depth up to 3 inches was reported.

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:28 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 2 mi WSW of Baxter
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.339, -94.319

Hail, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, 1 mi W of Brainerd
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.370, -94.221

Thunderstorm Wind, Crow Wing

When: August 13, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing County, Garrison
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 46.300, -93.820

Numerous trees were blown down by the strong thunderstorm winds.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pine

When: August 13, 7:54 PM CST
Where: Pine County, 1 mi NE of Pine City
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.840, -92.965

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, August 2007

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: 54550, 54521, 54523, 54524, 54526, 54545, 54527, 54528, 54529, 54531, 54546, 54532, 54533, 54535, 54536, 54537, 54539, 54548, 54540, 54541, 54543, 54544, 54547, 54549.