Saturday storms bring hail, heavy rain to parts of Minnesota
The National Weather Service is asking for reports of severe weather after a string of thunderstorms dropped heavy rain and at least one report of large hail across portions of north central and northeastern Minnesota Saturday evening.
Several storms that moved through Cass and Crow Wing counties and into Aitkin County included the potential for strong straight line winds and large hail.
"With the very first cell that developed around six, the main threat we were looking at was hail. It had a very impressive hail core in the radar features,” said Duluth-based National Weather Service Meteorologist Lee Britt.
Britt said he received a report of one inch hail about 10 miles west of Nisswa in the Brainerd Lakes area.
The National Weather Service is seeking additional reports of large hail or damaging straight line winds, especially around Brainerd and Lake Winnibigoshish, between Bemidji and Grand Rapids.
The storms dropped up to two-and-a-half inches of rain over parts of Cass and Crow Wing counties. “So quite a good, efficient rainmaker,” Britt said.
Areas in Cook and Lake Counties in the Arrowhead region in far northeastern Minnesota received up to five inches of rain over the past several days.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.