Minnesota, 2008

High Wind in Minnesota, October 26, 2008

October 26, 2008 · NWS FGF · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A cold front moved through the northern plains on the afternoon of the 25th, bringing strong northwest winds in its wake. On the morning of the 26th, the corridor of strongest winds extended from Cando to Finley to Fargo/Moorhead to Fergus Falls, where strong cold advection brought sustained winds of 40 mph.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
4

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 FGF wrote it up.

A cold front moved through the northern plains on the afternoon of the 25th, bringing strong northwest winds in its wake. On the morning of the 26th, the corridor of strongest winds extended from Cando to Finley to Fargo/Moorhead to Fergus Falls, where strong cold advection brought sustained winds of 40 mph.

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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 25, 2:04 PM CST, 16 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 25, 2:04 PM CST, 16 hours 56 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 25, 2:45 PM CST, 16 hours 15 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Wilkin

When
October 26, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Wilkin forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.357, -96.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Grant

When
October 26, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.934, -96.012 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, West Otter Tail

When
October 26, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
West Otter Tail forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.409, -95.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clay

When
October 26, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.892, -96.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, October 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 133479, 133974, 133975, 133976.