Severe Storms and Funnel Clouds: July 14, 2008
Funnel cloud at Lake 14, Twelve miles northwest of Virginia in St. Louis County
Courtesy WIDO-TV Duluth and Tim Jacobsen
There were turbulent skies in northeastern Minnesota as severe storms struck during the evening and twilight hours of July 14th. Hardest hit were parts of central and eastern Itasca County, including the Coleraine area, north of Virgina in St Louis County, and the Isabella area in Lake County. Along with hail up to one inch in diameter, there were reports of funnels and they were captured on camera. The Duluth National Weather Service will sent out a damage survey team to inspect areas that were hardest hit. While there was evidence of wind damage, no signs of damage due to a tornado could be seen. In addition to the wind and hail, some heavy rain fell with minor street flooding reported in Nashwauk in Itasca County.
Below are local storm reports and a public information statement courtesy the National Weather Service.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
826 PM AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008
METEOROLOGISTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH CONDUCTED
DAMAGE SURVEYS TODAY IN THREE AREAS WHERE REPORTS OF DAMAGE WERE RECEIVED
FROM STORMS ON MONDAY EVENING. THE THREE AREAS THAT WERE INVESTIGATED WERE
1) CENTRAL AND EASTERN ITASCA COUNTY... INCLUDING THE COLERAINE AREA AND
NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS... 2) ST. LOUIS COUNTY NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF
VIRGINIA AND 3) LAKE COUNTY IN THE ISABELLA AREA. RESULTS OF THE SURVEYS
REVEALED SEVERAL AREAS OF WIND DAMAGE... BUT NO TORNADOES COULD BE CONFIRMED
VIA EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE TRACKS DURING THE GROUND SURVEY.
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED IN THE ISABELLA AREA OF LAKE COUNTY...
WITH A CONCENTRATED AREA OF DAMAGE OBSERVED 4 TO 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF ISABELLA.
AN ESTIMATED 40 ACRES OF TREES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DAMAGED OR BLOWN DOWN AT
THIS LOCATION. THIS DAMAGE PATH CONTINUED IN AN EAST-SOUTHEAST DIRECTION
TO EAST OF ISABELLA...WHERE NUMEROUS OTHER LARGE TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN.
THE BLOWN DOWN TREES IN THIS AREA EXHIBITED A CLEARLY DIVERGENT PATTERN...
INDICATING THAT THE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY NON-TORNADIC MICROBURST WINDS.
DESPITE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS AND BRIEF TORNADOES MONDAY
EVENING IN LOCALES NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF VIRGINIA... VERY LITTLE EVIDENCE
OF WIND DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED IN THIS AREA. SPORADIC DAMAGE TO MEDIUM AND
A FEW LARGE TREES WAS OBSERVED IN THIS AREA... INCLUDING ALONG HIGHWAY 53...
AND IN THE LAKE FOURTEEN AREA... BUT NO EVIDENCE OF A TORNADO DAMAGE
PATH COULD BE LOCATED.
FINALLY... TO THE NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS AND IN THE COLERAINE AREAS...
WIND DAMAGE WAS SPORADIC AND SCATTERED. A FEW MEDIUM TO LARGE TREES
WERE EITHER BLOWN DOWN OR SNAPPED OFF ALONG HIGHWAY 38 FROM 5 TO 15
MILES NORTH OF GRAND RAPIDS... BUT SIMILARLY TO THE ST. LOUIS COUNTY
SURVEY... NO CONSISTENT DAMAGE PATH CHARACTERISTIC OF A TORNADO
COULD BE FOUND.WE WILL DO ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION ON WEDNESDAY...
AND POST A SUMMARY ON OUR WEBPAGE.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
128 AM CDT TUE JUL 15 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0830 PM HAIL TALMOON 47.60N 93.77W
07/14/2008 E0.75 INCH ITASCA MN LAW ENFORCEMENT
0832 PM HAIL WIRT 47.73N 93.96W
07/14/2008 M0.75 INCH NORTHWEST ITASCA MN AMATEUR RADIO
0845 PM TORNADO BUHL 47.50N 92.77W
07/14/2008 ST. LOUIS MN PUBLIC
0850 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 12 N GRAND RAPIDS 47.40N 93.52W
07/14/2008 ITASCA MN TRAINED SPOTTER
0850 PM TORNADO 5 N VIRGINIA 47.59N 92.51W
07/14/2008 ST. LOUIS MN TRAINED SPOTTER
BRIEF TOUCHDOWN
0905 PM TORNADO 13 NNW VIRGINIA 47.69N 92.61W
07/14/2008 ST. LOUIS MN PUBLIC
1000 PM HAIL SQUAW LAKE 47.63N 94.14W
07/14/2008 E0.88 INCH ITASCA MN TRAINED SPOTTER
GROUND WHITE
1008 PM HAIL 15 NNW NASHWAUK 47.58N 93.29W
07/14/2008 E1.00 INCH ITASCA MN TRAINED SPOTTER
COVERING GROUND AND GETTING LARGER. TREE DOWN.
1018 PM HAIL 16 N DEER RIVER 47.57N 93.79W
07/14/2008 M1.00 INCH ITASCA MN LAW ENFORCEMENT
1020 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 NNE BOWSTRING 47.61N 93.76W
07/14/2008 ITASCA MN AMATEUR RADIO
14 INCH DIAMETER TREE DOWN ON THE NORTH SIDE OF BOWSTRING
LAKE
1034 PM HAIL 3 N MARCELL 47.64N 93.69W
07/14/2008 M1.00 INCH ITASCA MN LAW ENFORCEMENT
STATE HWY 38 AND ITASCA COUNTY ROAD 43
1040 PM HAIL DEER RIVER 47.34N 93.79W
07/14/2008 E1.00 INCH NORTHWEST ITASCA MN LAW ENFORCEMENT
SOME LARGER.
1054 PM HAIL GRAND RAPIDS 47.23N 93.52W
07/14/2008 E1.00 INCH ITASCA MN LAW ENFORCEMENT
1056 PM HAIL GRAND RAPIDS 47.23N 93.52W
07/14/2008 M0.88 INCH ITASCA MN TRAINED SPOTTER
ESTIMATED TIME
1057 PM HAIL COLERAINE 47.31N 93.42W
07/14/2008 E0.88 INCH SOUTHERN ITASCA MN TRAINED SPOTTER
1059 PM TSTM WND GST GRAND RAPIDS 47.23N 93.52W
07/14/2008 E45.00 MPH ITASCA MN PUBLIC
1101 PM HAIL COLERAINE 47.31N 93.42W
07/14/2008 E1.00 INCH ITASCA MN PUBLIC
1237 AM HAIL MEADOWLANDS 47.07N 92.73W
07/15/2008 E0.88 INCH ST. LOUIS MN AMATEUR RADIO
0109 AM HEAVY RAIN NASHWAUK 47.38N 93.17W
07/15/2008 E3.00 INCH ITASCA MN AMATEUR RADIO
3 TO 4 INCHES OF WATER IN STREETS. MINOR STREET FLOODING