Strong winds accompanied a cold front moving across southeast Minnesota on November 6. Wind gusts estimated at 50 to 55 mph knocked down trees and power lines near Austin and Brownsdale.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 ARX wrote it up.
Strong winds accompanied a cold front moving across southeast Minnesota on November 6. Wind gusts estimated at 50 to 55 mph knocked down trees and power lines near Austin and Brownsdale. Small sheds were also damaged near Brownsdale.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 6, 3:18 AM CST, 7 hours 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 318 AM CST THU NOV 6 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT FORECAST FOCUS CONTINUES TO BE ON PRECIPITATION PLACEMENT AND TIMING THROUGH TODAY...THEN PRECIPITATION TYPE AS COLDER AIR FILTERS IN LATER TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. SURFACE MAP THIS MORNING HAD DEEP/OCCLUDED 991MB LOW OVER EASTERN SD WITH THE COLD FRONT EXTENDING INTO SOUTHWESTERN MN...THEN THROUGH WESTERN IA AND INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW PER 925-850MB PROFILERS WAS DRAWING COPIOUS MOISTURE NORTHWARD AHEAD OF THE LOW AND FRONT...FUELING A RESPECTABLE LINE OF CONVECTION. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY WAS SHOWING AN EMBEDDED MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE EJECTING NORTHEAST ACROSS NORTHEAST INTO IA/MO OUT OF MEAN TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE PLAINS. THIS WAS ENHANCING CONVECTION/RAINFALL RATES FROM CENTRAL IA THROUGH SOUTHWEST MO. ALL THIS WAS LIFTING NORTHEAST TOWARD THE AREA. OTHERWISE...TEMPERATURES WERE VERY MILD ACROSS THE AREA IN SOUTHERLY FLOW WITH READINGS IN THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S. 06.00Z OPERATIONAL GFS AND NAM/LOCAL WRF MODELS/SREF AL IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE PERIOD WAS PROMOTING HIGHER FORECASTER CONFIDENCE. FOR TODAY...THE STACKED/OCCLUDED LOW MOVES VERY LITTLE/INTO WESTERN MN TODAY AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES NORTHEAST INTO THE AREA. STRONG MOISTURE FETCH WILL CONTINUE TO FUEL CONVECTION AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS IT MOVES INTO THE AREA. NO SEVERE THREAT EXPECTED WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS. HOWEVER...RAINFALL COULD BE MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY AT TIMES BETWEEN 12Z AND 15Z AS AXIS OF TROWAL/STRONG LIFT/MOISTURE TRANSPORT ROTATES INTO THE AREA...THEN EAST BY LATE AFTERNOON. HAVE DETAILED THE POP/WX GRIDS TO REFLECT THIS TREND. BY THIS EVENING...THE FRONT/BULK OF PRECIPITATION LIFTS NORTHEAST OF THE AREA AS A STRONG DRY SLOT WORKS IN FROM THE SOUTHWEST. AGAIN... TAILORED GRIDS TO SHOW THIS TREND. AFTER MIDNIGHT...AREA OF RAIN/SNOW MIX WORKS IN ACROSS SOUTHEAST MN/NORTHEAST IA INTO FAR WESTERN WI AS THE SURFACE/UPPER LOW DRIFT SLOWLY TOWARD THE AREA FROM WESTERN MN. THE STACKED LOW WILL MOVE INTO WI FRIDAY WITH DYNAMIC COOLING THROUGH THE COLUMN. AS A RESULT...TEMPERATURES WILL ONLY WARM A DEGREE OR TWO DURING THE DAY FROM LOWS TONIGHT WITH HIGHS TOPPING OFF IN THE THE UPPER 30S TO LOWER 40S. MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW ALONG WITH THE DYNAMIC COOLING WILL ALSO PRODUCE A RAIN/SNOW MIX ACROSS THE AREA. MOISTURE CONTINUES TO GET WRAPPED INTO THE BACKSIDE OF THE LOW FRIDAY NIGHT AS IT MOVES SLOWLY NORTHEAST THROUGH WI. WITH COLD CORE OF LOW DIRECTLY OVERHEAD AND SURFACE TEMPERATURES FALLING BACK INTO THE LOWER/MID 30S...SOME SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE. LOOKS RIGHT NOW WITH RECENT RECORD WARMTH...THE GROUND WILL BE TOO WARM FOR ACCUMULATION INITIALLY. BUT WITH CONTINUOUS SNOW/HEAVIER SNOW RATES...CANNOT RULE OUT PERHAPS A HALF AN INCH TO AN INCH OF SNOW ON THE RIDGE TOPS/HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. SNOW/SNOW SHOWERS LOOK LIKELY THROUGH SATURDAY/SATURDAY NIGHT WITH MOISTURE CONTINUING TO WRAP AROUND THE BACKSIDE OF THE OCCLUDED LOW AS IT LIFTS INTO UPPER MI/LAKE SUPERIOR. ONLY MINOR ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN AN INCH EXPECTED... MAINLY ON GRASSY/HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE LOW BEGINS FILLING AS IT LIFTS NORTHEAST INTO ONTARIO ON SUNDAY. HOWEVER...ENOUGH REMNANT COLD CYCLONIC FLOW ACROSS THE AREA TO FUEL SOME SNOW SHOWER/FLURRY ACTIVITY. SPLIT FLOW REGIME TAKES OVER THOUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. A WEAK RIDGE BUILDS IN SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY TIME FRAME FOR DRY/CONTINUED COOL WEATHER. LATEST GFS/ECMWF SEEM TO BE AT ODDS ON HOW TO HANDLE SOUTHERN STREAM ENERGY FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. EITHER WAY...BOTH MODELS KEEPING PRECIPITATION SOUTH OF THE AREA FOR NOW. OTHERWISE...IT WILL REMAIN COOL WITH HIGHS TOPPING OFF IN THE UPPER 30S TO MIDDLE 40S. CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST REFLECTS ALL THIS WELL...SO NO CHANGES WERE NECESSARY. && .AVIATION... AVIATION CONCERNS WILL CENTER AROUND LARGE...VERTICALLY STACKED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM INITIALLY OVER EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA...BUT DRIFTING THIS WAY. IMPACTS TO AVIATION FROM THIS SYSTEM WILL CENTER ON PERIOD OF STEADY RAIN THROUGH 18Z WITH SOME MVFR CIGS/VSBYS LIKELY. THERE MAY BE A FEW RANDOM LIGHTNING STRIKES WITH THE HEAVIEST BANDS OF RAIN...BUT AT THIS TIME...HAVE NO PLANS TO INCLUDE THUNDER IN THE TAFS THIS MORNING...AND WILL LIKELY CONTINUE CB QUALIFIER AT MOST DUE TO VERY LIMITED INSTABILITY. AT THE MOMENT...NOT EXPECTING IFR CONDITIONS TO DEVELOP EITHER BASED ON LACK OF UPSTREAM OBSERVATIONS WITH IFR CIGS...AND FORECAST SOUNDINGS WHICH SUPPORT KEEPING CIGS AT OR ABOVE ABOUT 2KFT. DEFINITE LULL IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT AFTER ABOUT 18-20Z ACROSS THE TAF SITES WITH DRYING IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER WHICH SHOULD ALLOW CIGS TO LIFT A BIT AS RAIN PUSHES EAST. HOWEVER...MAY STILL BE A BIT OF DRIZZLE IN THE BROADER SCALE LIFT IN THE DRY SLOT OF THE LARGE LOW PRESSURE. EXPECT CIGS TO COME BACK DOWN LATER IN THE NIGHT AS COLD AIR FILTERS IN...AND DEFORMATION RAIN/SNOW ENCROACHES FROM THE WEST. WILL SEE THIS RAIN/SNOW MIX THROUGH MUCH OF FRIDAY WITH LIKELY MVFR CIGS. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...DAS AVIATION...BINAU
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 449 AM CST THU NOV 6 2008 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-071100- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 449 AM CST THU NOV 6 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA... SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THE RAIN MOVING THROUGH THE AREA TODAY. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS COLDER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA...LIGHT RAIN WILL MIX WITH AND THEN CHANGE OVER TO SNOW FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. LIGHT SNOW IS THEN EXPECTED TO BE THE ONLY PRECIPITATION TYPE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS ON GRASSY AREAS WILL BE POSSIBLE...BUT TRAVEL IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE AFFECTED WITH ROAD SURFACES REMAINING WARM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED. BINAU
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were knocked down and small sheds damaged.
Power lines and trees were knocked down. A few trees were blocking roads.
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, November 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: 136594, 136596.