Hail in Wisconsin, August 28, 2008

Name: Hail in Wisconsin, August 28, 2008
Start: 2008-08-28T16:15
End: 2008-08-28T16:29
Location: Wisconsin

August 28, 2008 · NWS DLH · 2 events in 1 county or zone

An upper level disturbance and weak frontal boundary produced strong to severe thunderstorms over portions of northwest Wisconsin. The storms produced large hail and a few damaging wind gusts.

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 DLH wrote it up.

An upper level disturbance and weak frontal boundary produced strong to severe thunderstorms over portions of northwest Wisconsin. The storms produced large hail and a few damaging wind gusts.

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 28, 3:12 PM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 3:12 PM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...MESOSCALE UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
412 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

.MESOSCALE UPDATE...CONCERNING SEVERE WEATHER THREAT IN THE
DULUTH/CLOQUET AREAS THROUGH 6 PM...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR FLOODWOOD IS FAR ENUF SOUTH TO BE WITHIN
AXIS OF GREATER DEEP LAYER SHEAR OF AROUND 40 KTS AND IS ALSO
LOCATED WITHIN MAX INSTABILITY AXIS..WITH MUCAPES 1000-1500 J/KG.

STORM HAS BECOME EXTREMELY WELL ORGANIZED IN VOLUMETRIC RADAR DATA
IN THE PAST 30 MINUTES AND APPEARS TO HAVE BECOME A SUPERCELL WITH A
WELL-DEFINED BWER AND PERSISTENT MESOCYCLONE.  LOW LEVEL Z/V DATA
ALSO INDICATES A VERY WELL ORGANIZED OUTFLOW NOW PROPAGATING OUT OF
THE MAIN Z CORE.

GIVEN THE STRUCTURE AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR PRESENT..IT APPEARS THAT
THIS STORM SHUD BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN SUPERCELL CHARACTERISTICS FOR AT
LEAST ANOTHER HOUR OR SO AS IT MOVES SEWD ALONG HIGHWAY 2 CORRIDOR
BETWEEN GOWAN AND PROCTOR AND EVENTUALLY INTO/ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
HALF OF THE DULUTH-SUPERIOR METRO AREA AND CLOQUET BETWEEN 430 AND 6
PM. AT LEAST QUARTER SIZE HAIL APPEARS LIKELY..ALONG WITH 60-70 MPH
WINDS WITHIN THE REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT TO THE IMMEDIATE SOUTH OF THE
REFLECTIVITY CORE.
 MILLER

&&

.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.
LS...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 28, 2:24 PM CST, 1 hour 51 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
324 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-291030-
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-
324 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING NORTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM BAUDETTE TO ASKOV TO ASHLAND.
A FEW STORMS MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. STORMS WILL
QUICKLY DIMINISH WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR
TONIGHT HOWEVER PLEASE REPORT ANY HAIL OR WIND DAMAGE TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN DULUTH.

LSZ121-140>148-291030-
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-
324 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF
WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY AFFECT BOATERS FROM GRAND PORTAGE
MINNESOTA TO THE APOSTLE ISLANDS OF WISCONSIN LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL ARE THE PRIMARY THREATS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATE TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY.

CANNON

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DULUTH (ALL LOWER CASE)

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 28, 2:04 PM CST, 2 hours 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
304 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

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

0245 PM     HAIL             2 N WIRT                47.76N 93.96W
08/28/2008  M0.75 INCH       ITASCA             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0258 PM     HAIL             2 E HILL CITY           46.99N 93.55W
08/28/2008  E0.88 INCH       AITKIN             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BETTWY

Local storm report, Aug 28, 3:17 PM CST, 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
417 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

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

0405 PM     HAIL             FLOODWOOD               46.93N 92.92W
08/28/2008  M0.88 INCH       ST. LOUIS          MN   CO-OP OBSERVER

            HAIL COVERING THE GROUND.

&&

MBETTWY

Local storm report, Aug 28, 4:02 PM CST, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
502 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

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

0450 PM     HAIL             6 N CLOQUET             46.82N 92.49W
08/28/2008  M1.00 INCH       ST. LOUIS          MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

SGOHDE

Local storm report, Aug 28, 4:05 PM CST, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
505 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

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

0430 PM     HAIL             4 NE CLOQUET            46.77N 92.43W
08/28/2008  M0.75 INCH       CARLTON            MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

SGOHDE

Local storm report, Aug 28, 4:07 PM CST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
507 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

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

0459 PM     HAIL             HERMANTOWN              46.81N 92.24W
08/28/2008  M0.75 INCH       ST. LOUIS          MN   NWS EMPLOYEE

&&

SGOHDE

Local storm report, Aug 28, 4:15 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
515 PM CDT THU AUG 28 2008

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

0505 PM     HAIL             DULUTH                  46.78N 92.12W
08/28/2008  M0.75 INCH       ST. LOUIS          MN   NWS EMPLOYEE

            PENNY SIZED HAIL COVERING THE GROUND IN WOODLAND
            NEIGHBORHOOD.

&&

SGOHDE

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Douglas

When: August 28, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Douglas County, Superior
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.720, -92.100

Hail, Douglas

When: August 28, 4:29 PM CST
Where: Douglas County, Superior
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.720, -92.100

The hail was reported near the mouth of the Nemadji River.

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 Wisconsin in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, August 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: 132470, 132471.