A complex of thunderstorms that developed across eastern South Dakota the early evening of Friday, July 23rd, quickly raced eastward into southwest Minnesota and caused a considerable amount of wind reports in excess of 60 mph along with numerous reports of large trees or large tree limbs blown down. Several AWOS and Minnesota Department of Transportation Road Weather Stations reported wind…
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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 MPX wrote it up.
A complex of thunderstorms that developed across eastern South Dakota the early evening of Friday, July 23rd, quickly raced eastward into southwest Minnesota and caused a considerable amount of wind reports in excess of 60 mph along with numerous reports of large trees or large tree limbs blown down. Several AWOS and Minnesota Department of Transportation Road Weather Stations reported wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph as the complex moved across southern Minnesota.
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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 23, 10:15 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1115 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2010
.DISCUSSION...
MAIN CONCERN IN THE SHORT TERM IS MORE RAIN WHERE NONE IS NEEDED...
ACROSS SC MN. WILL CONTINUE WITH FLOOD WATCH FOR SC MN FOR
TONIGHT...BUT FEEL THAT HEAVIEST RAINS WILL REMAIN ACROSS IA.
WV IMAGERY CONTINUES TO SHOW PERSISTENT PLUME OF MOISTURE
ADVECTING OUT OF SW U.S. THRU THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND ACROSS IA AND
WI. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE PWATS REMAIN FROM 1.75 TO AROUND 2
INCHES. CONVECTION HAS BEEN INCREASING ON SOUTH EDGE OF PLUME
ACROSS S AND E IA WHERE 75 TO 80 DEGREE DWPTS FEEDING INTO WEAK
BOUNDARY. SHORTWAVE MOVING OUT OF E NEB HAS ALSO AIDED
CONVECTION..AND THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE CASE THRU THIS
EVENING. 850 MB MOISTURE TRANSPORT VECTORS ALSO INCREASE ACROSS
THIS AREA THIS EVENING AND INTO TONIGHT.
TSTMS HAVE ALSO BEEN INCREASING ACROSS NODAK INTO NW SODAK AHEAD OF
VIGOROUS LATE JULY UPPER TROF AND EXPECT THESE STORMS TO CONTINUE
DEVELOPING SE ALONG INSTABILITY GRADIENT AHEAD OF SURFACE LOW. MAY
SEE A FEW SEVERE STORMS IN SW MN LATE EVENING. STRONG UPPER TROF
WILL SPREAD SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS ACROSS AREA IN THE
OVERNIGHT AND MORNING HOURS. MAY ALSO SEE SOME FAIRLY HEAVY RAINS
IN SW AND INTO SC MN LT EVE INTO TONIGHT.
QUITE A DIFFERENCE IN QPF OUTPUT TONIGHT BETWEEN NAM AND GFS.
PREFER NAM HANDLING OF LLJ IN WHICH JET IS ORIENTED MORE E-W
ACROSS IA ALONG AXIS OF HIGH ELEVATED INSTABILITY. GFS DEVELOPS
50 KNOT LLJ INTO SC MN BY 06Z AHD OF A SPURIOUS LOOKING 850 MB
LOW. BASED FORECAST QPF MORE TOWARD ECMWF AND SHRF SOLUTION WITH
.50 TO 1.00 QPF IN SW INTO PARTS OF SC MN MAINLY BETWEEN 03Z AND
09Z AS SURFACE WAVE COMES THRU AHEAD OF UPPER TROF.
HELD ONTO SOME MAINLY MORNING POPS CENTRAL AND EASTERN AREAS WITH
UPPER TROF STILL UPSTREAM.
HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FOR LATE SATURDAY/SUNDAY WITH NW FLOW.
SOME CHANCE OF EARLY MORNING FOG SUNDAY MORNING WITH VERY WEAK
PRESSURE GRADIENT.
NEXT CHANCE OF PRECIP BEGINS TUESDAY AS FRONT SAGS INTO AREA FROM
THE NW. MODELS HAVE BEEN ADVERTISING A SLOW PROGRESSION OF FRONT
WITH FRONT LIFTING BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT LATER IN WEEK AS LOW
PRESSURE DEVELOPS IN NEB/SODAK. THUS...CHANCE POPS TO CONTINUE FOR
REMAINDER OF FORECAST.
&&
.AVIATION.../06Z TAF ISSUANCE/
ON GOING CONVECTION PRECEDED SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER NORTHERN ROCKIES.
MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM CENTERED OVER SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND
SOUTHWEST MN...WILL CONTINUE TO DIVE SOUTHEAST OVER SOUTHERN MN AND
IOWA OVERNIGHT. SHRA/TSRA ACTIVITY SHOULD BE MAINLY SOUTH AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM KAXN...KMPX TO KRST OVERNIGHT. CEILING LOWERING
BETWEEN 2000-4000 FEET AGL WITH VISIBILITY LOWERING BELOW 2 MILES IN
MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL. SFC WINDS GUSTING CLOSE TO 50 TO 60 MPH
NEAR THE APEX OF BOWING LINE SEGMENTS. WX CONDS IMPROVING MID OR
LATE MORNING...CLOUDS/CEILING HEIGHTS LIFT TO 3500-4000 FEET AGL.
MSP...MAIN THREAT FOR HEAVY RAIN AND SEVERE WEATHER OVERNIGHT...WILL
STAY WELL SOUTH AND WEST OF THE TWIN CITIES. CEILING HEIGHTS
LOWERING TO 2000-3500 FEET IN SHRA/ISOLD TSRA THROUGH SATURDAY
MORNING...THEN BECOMING SCATTERED TO BROKEN CUMULUS CLOUDS AROUND
4000 FEET AGL DURING THE AFTERNOON.
&&
.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 4 AM CDT SATURDAY FOR BLUE EARTH-
FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-MARTIN-STEELE-WASECA-WATONWAN.
WI...NONE.
&&
BAP/JMHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 642 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2010 MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028- 241100- DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS- BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA- KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON- YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA- REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH- WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK-BARRON-RUSK- ST. CROIX-PIERCE-DUNN-PEPIN-EAU CLAIRE- 642 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP OVER PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA LATE...THEN MOVE INTO EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN OVERNIGHT. THE GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE GENERALLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM CANBY TO REDWOOD FALLS TO OWATONNA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN THREATS...BUT AN ISOLATED TORNADO SHOULD NOT BE RULED OUT. IN ADDITION...AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL MAY DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF LINGERING THUNDERSTORMS ON SATURDAY OVER EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT...IN WEST CENTRAL OR SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA.
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:49 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down near 2nd Avenue South in St. James, Minnesota. In addition, the St. James Municipal Airport measured a wind gust of 52 mph at 10:55 CST.
A large tree branch was blown down near the intersection of County Road 21, and 581st Avenue southwest of Klossner, Minnesota. In addition, a large tree was blown down in the city of Lafayette, Minnesota.
Several trees were blown down in North Mankato, Minnesota.
Several trees were uprooted between Mankato, to Eagle Lake, Minnesota.
A large tree blew down on a power line near Madison Lake, Minnesota.
An automated weather station had a measured wind gust of 65 mph north of Greenland, Minnesota.
Several trees and power lines were blown down in Montgomery, and southeast of Montgomery, Minnesota.
Trees and a few power lines were blown down near Northfield, Minnesota. An automated weather station west of Northfield, had a measured wind gust of 56 mph.
An automated Minnesota Department of Transportation Weather Station measured a wind gust of 59 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 2010
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: 235147, 235149, 235151, 248575, 248576, 235162, 235153, 235161, 235146, 235163.