An upper level low and shortwave produced scattered thunderstorms over portions of northeast Minnesota. At least two storms were supercells and produced large hail and damaging winds.
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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.
The episode as NWS DLH wrote it up.
An upper level low and shortwave produced scattered thunderstorms over portions of northeast Minnesota. At least two storms were supercells and produced large hail and damaging winds.
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 20, 1:06 PM CST, 2 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 206 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2008 .DISCUSSION... STRONG STORMS DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON AS A SHORTWAVE DIVES TOWARD NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. TEMPS AT 500MB HAVE COOLED TO -15C...AND MUCAPES WERE 1000-2000J/KG. SHEAR WAS WEAKEST ALONG THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER(<30KT)...BUT WAS AROUND 50KT ALONG OUR SOUTHERN CWA WHERE 50-55KT 500MB WINDS WERE LOCATED. RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE OVER OUR CWA OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO AS WAVE CONTINUES TO MOVE SOUTHEAST ALONG WITH A WEAK LOW LEVEL TROUGH. MAIN THREATS PER THE LATEST MCD FROM SPC IS HAIL...AND AGREE WITH THAT...ALTHOUGH SOME DAMAGING WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET WITH LOSS OF HEATING. MODELS ARE HANDLING SHORTWAVE ENERGY ON MONDAY DIFFERENTLY...WITH THE GFS MUCH STRONGER WITH THE WAVE. WE SIDED IN BETWEEN AND CONTINUED TO MENTION SOME CHANCE POPS...WITH THE HIGHEST OVER OUR EASTERN CWA. HIGH PRESSURE DEVELOPS FOR TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY...AND WE CONTINUED A DRY FORECAST THEN. AREAS OF FOG CONTINUE OVER LAKE SUPERIOR...AND WEBCAMS AROUND DLH SHOW FOG RIGHT AT THE SHORELINE...WAFFLING IN AND OUT. WE WILL MENTION FOG AROUND LAKE SUPERIOR THIS EVENING INTO MONDAY MORNING...AND ALL AREAS AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. && .AVIATION... AREAS OF MVFR CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING...BUT WILL EVENTUALLY INCREASE. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING...AND LOWER VSBYS AND CEILINGS WILL OCCUR WITH THEM. AREAS OF FOG AND IFR CONDITIONS AROUND LAKE SUPERIOR...ESPECIALLY AT THE THE TWIN PORTS HARBOR...EAST ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD OVERNIGHT. FOG WILL ALSO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT AT INLAND LOCATIONS...WITH IFR CONDITIONS. && POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 52 70 52 72 / 40 20 10 10 INL 50 75 52 80 / 30 20 10 10 BRD 55 78 55 78 / 30 10 10 10 HYR 52 74 50 78 / 40 20 20 10 ASX 52 67 50 73 / 40 30 30 10 && .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...NONE. WI...NONE. LS...NONE. MELDE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 1246 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2008 MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-211030- 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- 1246 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2008 ...SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. THERE IS ALSO A THREAT FOR A TORNADO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON. LSZ121-140>148-211030- 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- 1246 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. THERE IS ALSO A THREAT FOR A WATERSPOUT. AREAS OF FOG...SOME DENSE...WILL PERSIST TODAY AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. MELDE
The Duluth radar (KDLH), 144 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:04 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A large number of trees were blown down near Mable Lake on Highway 200.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 2008
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: 128571, 128570.