Storm reports for August 8, 2020

Numbers you can quote

On August 8, 2020, about 26,300 homes were inside radar-estimated hail of 1 inch or larger across 18 counties; the most were in Pennington County, SD (about 12,700).

• About 12,700 homes in Pennington County, SD, were inside radar-estimated hail of 1 inch or larger on August 8, 2020. Swath image

Homes are 2020 Census housing units in block groups whose center of population lay inside NOAA MRMS radar-estimated hail (MESH) of 1 inch or larger during the storm day (7 a.m. to 7 a.m. Eastern). These are radar estimates of hail size, not damage counts. More same-day numbers

Cite: National Storms. “Storm reports for August 8, 2020.” https://nationalstorms.com/storms/2020-08-08/. Data through November 7, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

IndependentNot affiliated with NOAA or the National Weather Service. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports; NOAA MRMS radar hail estimates (MESH) via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; 2020 Census housing units. Data through November 7, 2026. Methodology

← Aug 7, 2020 All 2020 storm days · August 2020 Aug 9, 2020 →

Other storms on August 8 →

On August 8, 2020, 49 hail, 67 damaging-wind and 1 tornado reports were logged across 9 states. The largest hail reported was 4.50″ (softball size) in Pennington County, SD. Radar estimated hail of 1 inch or larger over 2,029 square miles containing about 26,000 homes.

Storm day runs 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. Eastern (12:00–12:00 UTC), the convention the Storm Prediction Center uses. Colored areas are NOAA MRMS radar estimates of the largest hail (MESH) over the day, lower 48 states only; radar overestimates and underestimates size, so read it with the ground reports.

Storm reports by state

Cities with the largest radar-estimated hail

Counties by homes inside 1″+ radar-estimated hail

Homes are 2020 Census housing units and people are 2020 Census residents, counted by block group where its center of population lies under radar-estimated hail of 1 inch or larger.

Hail reports (49)

Damage, injuries and deaths

National Weather Service offices recorded about $2.3 million in property damage, $84,000 in crop damage and 1 injury from hail, thunderstorm wind and tornadoes across the US on this storm day (117 events in 9 states). Injuries and deaths are those the events caused directly.

What the National Weather Service wrote

• Pennington County, SD (near Pactola Reservoir) · Hail 4.50″ · 1 injury
  “A woman was hit in the head by giant hailstones.”
• Yellow Medicine County, MN (near Granite Falls) · Thunderstorm wind 69 mph · $1.8 million
  “Widespread wind damage occurred around the city of Granite Falls. Numerous trees, power lines and structural damage occurred in the city with the Yellow Medicine East School District main building sustaining major damage.”
• Goodhue County, MN (near Cannon Falls) · Thunderstorm wind 75 mph · $100,000
  “There were multiple trees and power lines blown down from southwest of Cannon Falls, through Cannon Falls, and to the east of town. There were 3-4 houses that had roof damage, one of the houses had their entire roof blown off on Pine Street.”
• Renville County, MN (near Minnesota Falls) · Thunderstorm wind 69 mph · $100,000
  “Numerous reports of downed trees and power lines from the eastern part of Granite Falls, eastward along Highway 212 to Sacred Heart. However, the damage became more sporadic eastward toward Sacred Heart.”
• Chippewa County, MN (near Granite Falls) · Thunderstorm wind 69 mph · $100,000
  “Numerous trees and power lines were blown down on the north and northeast side of Granite Falls. There was a measured wind gust of 122 mph on a wind farm north of Granite Falls. However, this measurement was taken at 200 feet above the ground.”
• Goodhue County, MN (near Red Wing) · Thunderstorm wind 64 mph · $100,000
  “There was lots of wind damage in Red Wing where many trees and branches were blown down, including damage to roofs, and power outages throughout the city. There was a measured wind report from a private weather station of 61 mph west of Red Wing at 1635 LST.”

Event narratives from NWS Storm Data, shortened. Up to six per day, chosen by deaths, injuries, damage and size.

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Storm Events Database, as entered by National Weather Service offices; data through July 31, 2026. Damage is in dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation.

Guides: What radar-estimated hail (MESH) is and isn't · Storm reports: preliminary vs final