Hail in Minnesota, May 6, 2008

Name: Hail in Minnesota, May 6, 2008
Start: 2008-05-06T13:59
End: 2008-05-06T18:48
Location: Minnesota

May 6, 2008 · NWS FSD · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

and southwest of Beaver Creek in extreme southwest Minnesota during the early evening of the same day.

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: 2

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 FSD wrote it up.

Thunderstorms produced marginally large hail at the town of Garvin in southwest Minnesota during the afternoon of May 6th...and southwest of Beaver Creek in extreme southwest Minnesota during the early evening of the same day.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 6, 10:00 AM CST, 3 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 6, 10:00 AM CST, 3 hours 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
1100 AM CDT TUE MAY 6 2008

.DISCUSSION...

VERY EFFICIENT SETUP TDA AS GOOD LOW LVL SLY INFLOW OF MORE MOIST
AIR IMPINGES ON STG E/W MID LVL BOUNDARY. INITIAL FOCUS AND
STRONGEST TSTMS FM SCNTRL SD TO MID JAMES VALLEY...WHICH WILL
TRANSLATE ESEWD OVR CWA DURG AFTN. VERY COLD MID LVLS AND STEEP
LAPSE RATES WILL CONTRIBUTE TO GOOD HAILERS AND PSBL STG MCS OUTFLOW
WINDS THIS AFTN AS LITTLE LOW LVL HEATING WILL BE REQUIRED. MAIN LOW
LVL INSTABILITY AND HEATING THIS AFTN AND EARLY TNGT WILL DVLP IN SE
HLF CWA WHERE BOXWORK BECOMES MOST LIKELY. BUT HAILERS WILL START
EARLY AFTN IN SWRN CWA WHERE BEST INFLOW STARTS. IN THE MEANTIME...
CUT BACK HIGHS N AND W IN CWA...AND RAISED POPS QUITE A BIT.

RYRHOLM

&&

.AVIATION...
MOSTLY VFR...BUT MVFR CONDITIONS IN SCT STG TSRA DVLPG EWD OVR CWA
FM 17Z THRU 23Z.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...
VERY TRICKY FORECAST TODAY WITH SEVERAL MESOSCALE FEATURES IMPACTING
THE FORECAST. OVERALL PATTERN DEPICTED BY NEARLY ZONAL FLOW ACROSS
THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITH UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER DESERT SOUTHWEST. AS
THIS UPPER LEVEL LOW BECOMES SHEARED APART...SEVERAL PIECES OF
ENERGY ARE EXPECT TO APPROACH THE FORECAST AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON
INTO THIS EVENING. SURFACE LOW CURRENTLY OVER NORTHEAST MONTANA WILL
SHIFT EAST TODAY AND ASSOCIATE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH FORECAST
AREA...BUT MORE ON THAT IN A BIT.

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING IN RESPONSE TO WARM AIR
ADVECTION ALOFT. LOW LEVEL DRY AIR WILL MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR PRECIP
TO REACH THE GROUND...OR REALLY AMOUNT TO MUCH. BAND OF WARM AIR
ADVECTION LIFTS TO THE NORTH BY MID MORNING...AND EXPECT ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS TO FOLLOW SUIT. FOCUS THEN TURNS TOWARDS SHORT WAVE
CURRENTLY ACROSS NORTHEASTERN COLORADO.  WAVE FAIRLY EVIDENT ON
WATER VAPOR...AND IS EXPECTED TO ZIP INTO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA BY 18Z.
QUESTIONS REMAIN AS TO WHETHER THIS WAVE WILL BE ABLE TO IGNITE
CONVECTION...AND FOR NOW HAVE BROADBRUSHED POPS THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
PERIODIC WEAK JET STREAKS ALSO PASS THROUGH FORECAST AREA
TODAY...PROVIDING ENHANCED AREAS OF UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT.  MODELS ARE
SUGGESTING THAT CONVECTION WILL HOLD OFF TIL THE MID TO LATE
AFTERNOON HOURS AS ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVE APPROACH FROM THE
SOUTHWEST...WITH CAPE INCREASING TO 1000-1500 J/KG. SHEAR PROFILES
DEPICT DECENT SPEED SHEAR...WITH SOME DIRECTIONAL SHEAR AS WELL.
SHEAR IS SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT...WHICH MAY
EVOLVE INTO MULTI-CELL CLUSTERS. CAN NOT RULE OUT A QUICK SPIN UP OR
TWO SUPERCELLS GIVEN SHEAR PROFILES...BUT FEEL THE MAIN SEVERE
THREAT WILL BE HAIL WITH WET BULB ZERO HEIGHTS AROUND 7000-8000 FEET
AGL.

COLD FRONT WORKS THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT...WITH CONVECTION
REMAINING AHEAD OF THE FRONT. BREEZY MIXY DAY EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY
WITH TEMPERATURES RETURNING TO BELOW NORMAL LEVELS.

TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO REMAIN FAIRLY COOL THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF
THE WEEK WITH EAST TO NORTHEAST FLOW DOMINATING THE PATTERN.  WAVE
CURRENTLY OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST EXPECTED TO MOVE INLAND AND
AFFECT FORECAST AREA ON THURSDAY. THIS IS FASTER THAN MODELS
PREVIOUSLY INDICATED...AND FOLLOWED PROGRESSION OF THE GFS AND
CANADIAN WITH THIS SYSTEM MORE THAN THE ECMWF.  WITH LOW
CLOUDS...EASTERLY FLOW AND POOR MIXING CONDITIONS...HAVE CUT HIGHS
BACK INTO THE 50S.

FRIDAY LOOKS TO BE AN IN-BETWEEN DAY AS OPEN WAVE TROUGH MOVES
THROUGH THE ROCKIES AFFECTING FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE FIRST HALF
OF THE WEEKEND.

&&

.FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...NONE.
MN...NONE.
IA...NONE.
NE...NONE.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, May 6, 10:33 AM CST, 3 hours 26 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
1133 AM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098-
IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-071200-
AURORA-BEADLE-BON HOMME-BROOKINGS-BRULE-BUENA VISTA IA-
CHARLES MIX-CHEROKEE IA-CLAY-CLAY IA-COTTONWOOD MN-DAKOTA NE-
DAVISON-DICKINSON IA-DIXON NE-DOUGLAS-GREGORY-HANSON-HUTCHINSON-
IDA IA-JACKSON MN-JERAULD-KINGSBURY-LAKE-LINCOLN-LINCOLN MN-
LYON IA-LYON MN-MCCOOK-MINER-MINNEHAHA-MOODY-MURRAY MN-NOBLES MN-
OBRIEN IA-OSCEOLA IA-PIPESTONE MN-PLYMOUTH IA-ROCK MN-SANBORN-
SIOUX IA-TURNER-UNION-WOODBURY IA-YANKTON-
1133 AM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS...
THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP NORTH OF INTERSTATE 90
THIS AFTERNOON...WITH HAIL UP TO NICKEL SIZE POSSIBLE. IN THE
MEANTIME...A STRONGER COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTH CENTRAL
SOUTH DAKOTA AROUND NOONTIME WILL MOVE EASTWARD TO THE SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 90 OVER SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...FAR NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA...AND INTO NORTHWEST IOWA LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
EARLY TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS AND WIND
GUSTS AROUND 60 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THESE STORMS.
THE STRONGEST STORMS SHOULD BE NEAR THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY.

FLOODING...
MINOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ON THE LITTLE SIOUX RIVER FROM NORTH
OF SPENCER TO NEAR LINN GROVE IN NORTHWEST IOWA. THE RIVER SHOULD
FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY WEDNESDAY...UNLESS SIGNIFICANT RAIN
FALLS TUESDAY OR TUESDAY NIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY BY NOON TIME IN SOUTH CENTRAL
SOUTH DAKOTA...BY 3 PM WEST OF INTERSTATE 29...AND BY 5 PM EAST
OF INTERSTATE 29.

&&

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/FSD. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK.

RSR

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 6, 12:41 PM CST, 1 hour 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
141 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

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

0130 PM     HAIL             WAGNER                  43.08N 98.30W
05/06/2008  E0.88 INCH       CHARLES MIX        SD   CO-OP OBSERVER

            IN ADDITION TO THE NICKEL SIZED HAIL, HEAVY RAIN WAS
            FALLING.

&&

TRM

Local storm report, May 6, 12:55 PM CST, 1 hour 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
155 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

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

0150 PM     HAIL             8 W SPRINGFIELD         42.85N 98.06W
05/06/2008  E0.75 INCH       BON HOMME          SD   TRAINED SPOTTER

            PENNY SIZED HAIL COVERING THE GROUND AND A DOWNPOUR OF
            RAIN.

&&

TRM

Local storm report, May 6, 1:29 PM CST, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
229 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

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

0225 PM     HAIL             1 W YANKTON             42.89N 97.41W
05/06/2008  E0.75 INCH       YANKTON            SD   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

TRM

Local storm report, May 6, 1:33 PM CST, 26 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
233 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

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

0210 PM     HAIL             4 SE TABOR              42.91N 97.60W
05/06/2008  E0.88 INCH       YANKTON            SD   PUBLIC

&&

TRM

Local storm report, May 6, 1:50 PM CST, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
250 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

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

0215 PM     HAIL             4 SW TABOR              42.91N 97.70W
05/06/2008  E0.88 INCH       BON HOMME          SD   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

TRM

Local storm report, May 6, 1:57 PM CST, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
257 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2008

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

0230 PM     TSTM WND GST     YANKTON                 42.92N 97.38W
05/06/2008  M72 MPH          YANKTON            SD   AWOS

&&

TRM

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lyon

When: May 6, 1:59 PM CST
Where: Lyon County, 0.85 mi SE of Garvin
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.210, -95.760

Hail, Rock

When: May 6, 6:48 PM CST
Where: Rock County, 2.12 mi ENE of Manley
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.590, -96.410

What these are

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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, May 2008

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: 105812, 105814.