Hail, Aitkin
- When
- August 27, 4:55 PM CST
- Where
- Aitkin County, 7 mi N of Mc Gregor
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 46.721, -93.300
Baseball-sized hail fell at Big Sandy Lake.
Hail and Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 27, 2007
A slow moving cold front and unstable air mass contributed to very intense thunderstorm development in northeast Minnesota during the afternoon and evening hours of August 27. One particularly severe thunderstorm produced widespread hail damage in the Big Sandy Lake area of Aitkin County, damaging cars, boats, roofs and sidings of homes.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $120,000
- 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 happened
The episode as NWS DLH wrote it up.
A slow moving cold front and unstable air mass contributed to very intense thunderstorm development in northeast Minnesota during the afternoon and evening hours of August 27. One particularly severe thunderstorm produced widespread hail damage in the Big Sandy Lake area of Aitkin County, damaging cars, boats, roofs and sidings of homes. A separate thunderstorm produced a lightning strike that caused extensive damage to Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Cloquet.
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 27, 1:55 PM CST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 27, 1:55 PM CST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...MESOSCALE UPDATE... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 255 PM CDT MON AUG 27 2007 .MESOSCALE UPDATE... ...CONCERNING INTENSE HP SUPERCELL LOCATED OVER AITKIN COUNTY... LATEST VOLUMETRIC REFLECTIVITY/VELOCITY DATA FROM KDLH INDICATE THAT THE STORM OVER AITKIN COUNTY..NEAR BIG SANDY LAKE..HAS BECOME A AN INTENSE HP SUPERCELL WITH 70 DBZ ECHO UP TO 33 KFT AGL AND A BWER CAPPED BY 60+ DBZ ECHO AT NEARLY 36 KFT. THIS INDICATES A GIANT HAIL THREAT WITH THIS STORM. BASEBALL SIZE HAIL JUST REPORTED AT BIG SANDY LAKE. AT ITS CURRENT MOVEMENT..THIS STORM WILL MOVE TO THE FLOODWOOD AND GOWAN AREA..AND EVENTUALLY HIGHWAY 53 BETWEEN CANYON AND INDEPENDENCE. THIS STORM APPEARS ELEVATED DUE TO THE STILL NORTHEAST MOVEMENT..BUT WE WILL NEED TO MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY FOR A RIGHT TURN..INDICATIVE OF THE STORM BECOMING MORE SURFACE BASED. IF SUCH A RIGHT TURN WERE TO OCCUR..IT WOULD ALSO BRING THIS STORM MUCH CLOSER TO THE DULUTH AREA PROPER. MILLER
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 27, 3:00 AM CST, 13 hours 55 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 400 AM CDT MON AUG 27 2007 LSZ121-140>148-162-MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004- 006>009-280900- 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- 400 AM CDT MON AUG 27 2007 ...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA... NORTHWEST WISCONSIN AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE TO THE LEFT OF A LINE FROM WALKER...TO DEER RIVER...AND DULUTH MINNESOTA...TO SOLON SPRINGS...HAYWARD...AND SARONA WISCONSIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES ON TUESDAY IN PINE COUNTY MINNESOTA...AS WELL AS NORTHWEST WISCONSIN. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS NEXT WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. GSF
The radar
The Duluth radar (KDLH), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:53 UTC.
Event by event
6 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Aitkin
- When
- August 27, 5:00 PM CST
- Where
- Aitkin County, 8 mi N of Mc Gregor
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 46.736, -93.300
Hail, St. Louis
- When
- August 27, 5:35 PM CST
- Where
- St. Louis County, 6 mi S of Floodwood
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 46.833, -92.920
The hail caused minor crop damage.
Hail, Aitkin
- When
- August 27, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Aitkin County, Hill City
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 46.980, -93.580
Hail, Aitkin
- When
- August 27, 5:52 PM CST
- Where
- Aitkin County, Hill City
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 46.980, -93.580
Hail, Aitkin
- When
- August 27, 5:58 PM CST
- Where
- Aitkin County, 2 mi E of Hill City
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- Amateur Radio
- Coordinates
- 46.980, -93.538
Lightning, Carlton
- When
- August 27, 6:20 PM CST
- Where
- Carlton County, Cloquet
- Property damage
- $120,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 46.720, -92.450
A lightning bolt caused considerable roof and structural damage to the Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Damage to the electrical, phone, and public address system was also noted.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strikes and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, August 27, 2007
- Heavy Rain in Arizona, August 27, 2007
- Flash Flood and Lightning Strike in Nevada, August 27, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, August 27, 2007
- Flash Flooding in Utah, August 27, 2007
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Alabama, August 27, 2007
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Texas, August 27, 2007
- Damaging Winds in Texas, August 27, 2007
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 27, 2007
- Hail in Iowa, August 27, 2007
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Michigan, August 27, 2007
- Hail in South Dakota, August 27, 2007
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 54486, 54488, 54490, 54491, 54492, 54493, 54509.