Strong storms swept across parts of the Northland on Thursday afternoon, dropping hail and downing trees.
The storms brought ominous clouds, gusty winds and heavy rain to Duluth -- not long after the nine tall ships in town for the weekend entered the harbor and tied up --but there were no reports of any damage.
To the north, the National Weather Service received reports of trees down in the Tower and Soudan areas about 4 p.m. The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office reported trees fell across Minnesota Highway 169 and McKinley Park Road near Soudan, but they had been cleaned up by mid-evening.
A weather spotter in Nett Lake reported one-inch diameter hail -- about the size of quarters -- with some hail accumulation on the ground about 2 p.m.
Later in the afternoon and into the evening, there were reports of hail up to quarter-size and trees down in Gile in Northwestern Wisconsin; half-inch hail at Alborn; nickel-size hail in International Falls; and trees down in the Crosslake and Deerwood areas of Crow Wing County.
