A quickly-spreading grass fire burned over 1000 acres and destroyed a barn north of the town of Nashwauk. There were no injuries and the fire was put out in about an hour.
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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 DLH wrote it up.
A quickly-spreading grass fire burned over 1000 acres and destroyed a barn north of the town of Nashwauk. There were no injuries and the fire was put out in about an hour.
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 May 4, 6:48 PM CST, 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Duluth MN 748 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday) Issued at 251 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 A low pressure system moves into the eastern Great Lakes this afternoon followed by a much weaker system on Saturday. The high pressure building in its wake is causing a strong surface pressure gradient which is causing gusty winds across NE MN in addition to very dry air. The combination is a potent mix for fire weather concerns on any given day, but even more so during the greenup period where plentiful combustible fuels exist. A red flag warning is in effect highlighting the extreme fire danger that currently exists. So take extra precautions when dealing with any ignition material. The next system crosses the region Saturday clipping the far eastern portion of the Minnesota Arrowhead. It may bring some light precipitation, but nothing significant. Clouds will build in especially more in the Arrowhead which will keep RH's a little more in check on Saturday decreasing the fire weather threat. Further, wind speeds should be lighter due to the relaxed pressure gradient. High pressure builds back in Saturday night into Sunday. Sunday should be a little cooler and drier than Saturday, but sunnier. A few wetter systems cross Wisconsin by mid week which may help moisten things up in the Northland. .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Friday) Issued at 251 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 A trough will situated over the Upper Mississippi River Valley Saturday evening, while a ridge builds over the Intermountain West. At the surface a cold front will be located somewhere across northern Minnesota while high pressure is building across Manitoba. The trough and surface cold front will slide southeastward overnight and should be out of the Northland by early Sunday morning. As the front slides through there will be chances of rain showers and thunderstorms. The ridge will build into the Northern Plains while high pressure builds into the Upper Mississippi River Valley on Sunday. High pressure will build southeastward into the Central Great Lakes on Monday as the ridge slides over the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Behind the ridge, a shortwave will slide eastward through Idaho and Montana. In response to the shortwave, low pressure will develop across the Western Dakotas. This setup will shift 850 hPa winds to a southerly/southwesterly direction which will advect mild air into the region. In addition, the pressure gradient will tighten especially across Minnesota. GFS/NAM forecast soundings show a strong mixed layer developing. So increased wind speeds, gusts and lowered relative humidities in comparison to the previous forecast. Anticipate near critical fire weather conditions, but will need to refine things as we get closer. Highs will generally be in the 70s throughout the region, but it will be cooler by lake. The trough will continue digging southeastward into the Northern Plains and Upper Mississippi River Valley on Tuesday/Wednesday. This will bring the next chances of widespread rain showers. There are still some subtle differences between the ECMWF/GFS/GEM on the timing of the wave moving through. Regardless looks like a good chance of rain showers. Details on Thursday/Friday become uncertain as there are large differences in how they handle a wave moving onshore into the Pacific Northwest. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Saturday evening) Issued at 748 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 VFR expected through the forecast. Mid and high clouds will overspread the terminals overnight and linger through Saturday. Some showers are possible by afternoon, but timing of these showers is difficult as they will be spotty in nature. Have used a VCSH mention as a result. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 39 66 37 61 / 0 30 10 0 INL 37 61 32 64 / 0 30 0 0 BRD 43 72 40 66 / 0 30 10 0 HYR 43 73 37 63 / 0 30 30 0 ASX 38 66 33 58 / 0 30 20 0 && .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. LS...None. && SHORT TERM...Wolfe LONG TERM...WL AVIATION...GSF
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Duluth MN 740 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-051030- Koochiching-North St. Louis-Northern Cook/Northern Lake- North Itasca-Central St. Louis-Southern Lake/North Shore- Southern Cook/North Shore-North Cass-South Itasca-South Cass- Crow Wing-Northern Aitkin-South Aitkin-Carlton/South St. Louis- Pine-Douglas-Bayfield-Ashland-Iron-Burnett-Washburn-Sawyer-Price- 740 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Thunderstorms are possible late Saturday afternoon south of U.S. Highway 2 in Minnesota and Wisconsin. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Skywarn Spotter activation will not be needed tonight. LSZ121-140>148-051030- 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- 740 PM CDT Fri May 4 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of the Nearshore waters of western Lake Superior. .DAY ONE...Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. GSF More information may be obtained at the following web address: http://www.weather.gov/duluth (all lower case)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A quickly-spreading grass fire burned over 1000 acres and destroyed a barn north of the town of Nashwauk. There were no injuries and the fire was put out in about an hour.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, May 2018
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: 743668.