Early morning thunderstorms across west central Minnesota on Wednesday, July 5th, produced a bolt of lightning which struck a Willmar home. The lightning bolt traveled inside the roof line of the home, which caused the insulation to catch fire.
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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.
Early morning thunderstorms across west central Minnesota on Wednesday, July 5th, produced a bolt of lightning which struck a Willmar home. The lightning bolt traveled inside the roof line of the home, which caused the insulation to catch fire. The house suffered considerable smoke damage, along with some water damage from the hoses. The family was at home as lightning struck, but no one was injured.
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 5, 4:39 AM CST, 56 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 539 AM CDT Wed Jul 5 2017 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 351 AM CDT Wed Jul 5 2017 The main concern this morning is a complex of storms near Alexandria, Minnesota as of 3 am, moving southeast and affecting a large area of central/east central Minnesota through sunrise. Latest HRRR has a good handle on this complex and used it as guidance for the near term. After this complex weakens and moves off to the southeast of Minnesota, the focus of new development looks to be in central Minnesota where theta-e moisture advection is maximized later this morning/afternoon. It also has forecast CAPES of 2500- 3500 J/kg. This alone with any boundaries left over should be sufficient for more convection this afternoon. This area will likely be the main focus through the afternoon/evening as further to the south across southwest/south central Minnesota, a significant cap should be in place. Later this evening/overnight, forecasters need to pay attention to upstream convection, similar to tonight, as the mean flow becomes northwest to southeast. Increased temperatures today due to more sunshine expected, especially in west central Minnesota where a few mid to upper 90s are possible. .LONG TERM...(Thursday through Tuesday) Issued at 351 AM CDT Wed Jul 5 2017 Severe weather is possible tomorrow, especially in Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. A cold front will move through the area tomorrow and bring lower dew points and northwesterly flow to the region from at least Friday into Sunday. Little change with the severe weather forecast for tomorrow. Surface dewpoints near 70 degrees will still be in place across the region, ahead of the cold front. Mid level height falls will ensue during the day as the northern stream trough in Canada digs south, and an 80 kt upper speed max noses into western MN. High temperatures still look to reach the low 90s or upper 80s, and destabilization will occur quickly tomorrow as 3,000 J/kg MLCAPE develops in the warm sector. This pool of unstable air will be much better aided by both a focus of lift and deep shear. The cold front coming in from the northwest will provide a focused source of lift and 0-6km shear of around 40 knots given a veering wind profile and the aforementioned speed max pushing in. Expect thunderstorms to develop along the front mid-afternoon, so much of western MN will already be on the cool/stable side of the front. Hence, the risk of severe weather increases to the east of central MN given frontal timing and interaction with available instability. Very large hail and damaging winds are the primary threats. For Friday into Sunday, drier and cooler northwesterly flow will bring more comfortable temperatures and dew points into the region. Expect mostly dry conditions in terms of precipitation, but there is a chance of sporadic light precip if perturbations in the flow overtop the ridge to our west. All in all, expecting a partly cloudy weekend with highs around 80 and dew points in the low to mid 50s. For Sunday and beyond, the guidance diverges quite a bit leaving much uncertainty to the forecast. But, we will be downstream of the western CONUS ridge and a through will be dropping south through Hudson Bay, so we'll have opportunities for shortwaves to move through which explains the sporadic low end pops in the forecast for the first half of next week. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Thursday morning) Issued at 535 AM CDT Wed Jul 5 2017 Complex of storms in central Minnesota have begun to develop further to the south/southwest vs. the southeast as previously thought. Although the general trend is to continue to see more convection further to the east in the next couple of hours, it might begin to weaken further and only brush portions of east central Minnesota through 15z. Will hold onto VCTS at KSTC/KMSP but KRNH might be spared. After this complex moves to the southeast and/or weakens, the next chance of any precipitation will occur during the afternoon, especially in central Minnesota where better support for development is possible. KMSP... Still thinking that some of the TSRA will affect the airport grounds, maybe not as widespread or intense, between 1230-1430z. Will make a last minute judgment before taf issuance on how the complex continues to develop, but will likely hold to this scenario. After 15z, very little chance of precipitation is expected in the next 12-18 hrs. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ Thu...Mainly VFR. -TSRA/MVFR possible. Wind SW bcmg NW at 10 kts. Fri...VFR. Wind NW at 10G15 kts. Sat...VFR. Wind S at 5 kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. && SHORT TERM...JLT LONG TERM...SPD AVIATION...JLT
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 351 AM CDT Wed Jul 5 2017 MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028- 060900- 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- 351 AM CDT Wed Jul 5 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central and southern Minnesota...and west central Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Scattered thunderstorms are possible again today. There is a marginal risk of severe weather through tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday There is an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms on Thursday in west central Wisconsin, with a slight risk in portions of east central and south central Minnesota. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Due to the isolated nature of the severe thunderstorms, skywarn spotter activation will likely not be needed through tonight.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
251 AM CDT WED JUL 5 2017
MNZ041-042-050830-
Douglas-Todd-
251 AM CDT WED JUL 5 2017
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT DOUGLAS AND CENTRAL TODD
COUNTIES...
At 250 AM CDT, a strong thunderstorm was located near Carlos, or near
Alexandria, moving southeast at 35 mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph and dime size hail are possible with this
storm.
Locations impacted include...
Alexandria, Long Prairie, Browerville, Clarissa, Eagle Bend, Carlos,
Brandon, Lake Osakis, Little Sauk, Holmes City, Round Prairie and
Leaf Valley.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 94 in Minnesota between mile markers 87 and 116.
U.S. Highway 71 between mile markers 177 and 208.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may cause
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
LAT...LON 4630 9480 4587 9465 4576 9556 4600 9568
4611 9536 4611 9515 4619 9514
TIME...MOT...LOC 0750Z 325DEG 28KT 4599 9536
JLTThe Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:32 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Early Wednesday morning, a lightning bolt struck a house in south Willmar. The lightning traveled inside the roof line of the home, which caused the insulation to catch fire. The house suffered considerable smoke damage, along with some water damage from the hoses. pitched roof.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 2017
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: 713641.