Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 140, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 8, 2000Otter Tail County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 8, 2000, 10:53 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 47 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 8, 2000, 10:53 PM CDT (03:53 UTC)
Expired
Jul 8, 2000, 11:40 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Otter Tail County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 193 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:54 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 8, 11:30 PM CDTHail 0.88Battle Lake, MN

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 8, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 220 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2000-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3971 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2000-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 126 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
3971 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1312 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
126 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
17.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WUUS53 KFGF 090355
SVRFAR
MNC111-090440-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
1053 PM CDT SAT JUL 8 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 1140 PM CDT

* AT 1049 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES NORTH OF CLITHERALL...OR ABOUT 
  21 MILES EAST OF FERGUS FALLS TO WRIGHTSTOWN OR 40 MILES EAST OF   
  FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE   SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  VINING AT 1100 PM CDT...
  HENNING AT 1105 PM CDT...
  ALMORA AT 1110 PM CDT...
  PARKERS PRAIRIE AT 1115 PM CDT...

REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 AM CDT SUNDAY
MORNING FOR WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

LAT...LON 4645 9566 4614 9578 4614 9519 4643 9519

NNNN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 8, 9:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 9:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
900 PM CDT SAT JUL 8 2000

VRY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS ACRS THE REGION WITH ETA 850 HPA
THETA-E ARND 350+K OVR THE SRN COUNTIES LWRG TO 330K IN THE N
COUNTIES. A COL SETS UP TNGT AT 850 HPA HOWEVER FLOW WAS MUCH
STRONGER E OF THE CWFA. WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWING A SHORT WV OVR SW
SD/NW NEB MOVG NE. STORMS WERE FIRING UP IN WRN SD OR E OF THE SHORT
WV. NW FLOW MOVS INTO THE CWFA TNGT WITH SUBSIDENCE FCST OVR ND. THE
SUBSIDENCE CREATES LWR DWPNTS AT 700 HPA WHICH WL INCR THE
CONVECTIVE INSTABLITY. CAA WND PROFILE TO CONT ACRS THE N AND AND
WAA WND PROFILE CONT ACRS SD. ETA MODEL SNDGS INDICATE CAA TO KICK
IN SUN MORN ACRS THE CWFA. NE-SW BAND OF HI BASED CONVECTION MOVD
THRU NRN VLY LATE AFTN AND HAS SINCE DSIPTD BUT CLD LINE REMAINS ON
VSB STLT. SUSPECT CLD LINE IS THE LEADING EDGE OF DRIER AIR ALF. 88D
SHOWING GOOD CONVECTION HAS FIRED UP OVR SE COUNTIES. WITH THE
COMBINATION OF APPROACHING SHORT WV, LWR DWPNT BNDRY ALF MOVG S, AND
GOOD MSTR GRAD ACRS THE REGION WL KEEP THREAT OF SVR WX/HVY RAIN FOR
TNGT ACRS THE S.

.F&GF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TNGT MN029>032-040-ND0049-052-053.
HOPPES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 8, 10:02 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
1002 PM CDT SAT JUL 08 2000

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0846 PM    5 W NEW YORK MILLS        MN   4.5 INCH HAIL
07/08/00   OTTER TAIL

0900 PM    7 SW NEW YORK MILLS       MN   2.75 INCH HAIL
07/08/00   OTTER TAIL

0920 PM    DEER CREEK                MN   3 INCH HAIL
07/08/00   OTTER TAIL

0925 PM    VERNDALE                  MN   TORNADO
07/08/00   WADENA                         BRANCHES DOWN, PRELIMINARY
                                          REPORT

0926 PM    DEER CREEK                MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/08/00   OTTER TAIL

NNNN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 8:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFOtter Tail30 min
Jul 8, 8:41 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFOtter Tail29 min
Jul 8, 8:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWadena31 min
Jul 8, 9:12 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFOtter Tail18 min
Jul 8, 9:16 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFWadena29 min
Jul 8, 9:49 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFOtter Tail, Wadena4 hr
Jul 8, 10:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFOtter Tail30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2000Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.