• A double storm system moved through the area last evening, leaving destroyed bean fields from hail and flattened corn fields from 60 mph wind. The bean field destroyed was reported one mile west of Frederick and the corn field six miles south-southwest of Spring Creek Colony.
• I started to monitor the double storm system around 4 p.m. when it

was located northwest of Bismarck. I did a loop on the radar and it showed it was going to head straight to Groton. As the time wore on, the path remained unchanged and the intensity of the storm continued to be very high. There were reports of hail and strong wind and this was considered a dangerous storm. By 6:12 pm, I notified the managers at the pool and texted Travis at the baseball field to keep an eye on this storm. I also posted on Facebook and sent out a message via Twitter for Groton residents to be on the alert for this dangerous storm. By 6:30, I gave the word to close the pool so kids had time to get safely home.
• There was a gap between the two storms with the strong of the two storms on the north side. It was still not know where Groton proper would get hit. All I could tell was that Groton was still the target. The severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for areas west and north of Groton. Then the warning was issued for Groton and it was expected to hit around 7:20 p.m. The sirens then sounded and the swarm of black clouds started to close in. First came the wind, then the rain, and then the hail. Ping pong size hail was reported on the south end of Groton, but on the north end, there were reports of some golf ball size hail.
• Groton lucked out. The city just got the tail of the south end of the stronger of the two storms. We received .14 of moisture. The storm quickly blew over and in a matter of minutes, the sun was shining like nothing happened and a rainbow appeared in the east.

• - Paul Kosel