Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 183, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 12, 2000Kittson County, Marshall County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 12, 2000, 1:56 AM CDT for Kittson County, Marshall County, Minnesota. It was in force for 59 min. 3 reports 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
Aug 12, 2000, 1:56 AM CDT (06:56 UTC)
Expired
Aug 12, 2000, 2:55 AM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Kittson County, MN, Marshall County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:57 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
Aug 12, 2:13 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 MHallock Arpt, MNThe Hallock AWOS measured a wind gust at 50 knots.
Aug 12, 2:45 AM CDTThunderstorm WindStephen, MNTrees were uprooted and several small buildings were overturned.
Aug 12, 3:05 AM CDTThunderstorm WindStrandquist, MNLarge tree limbs were blown down.

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
Aug 12, 1:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 260 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2000-08-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 128 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2000-08-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 194 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
128 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-331 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1778 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
217 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KFGF 120658
SVRFAR
MNC069-089-120755-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
156 AM CDT SAT AUG 12 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  KITTSON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...
  WESTERN MARSHALL COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 255 AM CDT

* AT 151 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THE LEADING EDGE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING
  FROM 32 MILES NORTH OF GRAFTON TO 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GRAFTON...
  MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 55 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  NORTHCOTE AT 200 AM CDT...
  STEPHEN AT 205 AM CDT...
  ARGYLE AT 210 AM CDT...
  LAKE BRONSON AT 215 AM CDT...

REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE 
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS 
HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 AM CDT 
SATURDAY MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4893 9714 4822 9711 4819 9637 4889 9644
$$
BRAZZELL
NNNN
A

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 Aug 11, 9:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 9:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 56 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
900 PM FRI AUG 11 2000

SW UPR LVL JET MOVG INTO SW MAN FCST TO MOV INTO WRN ONT BY MORN
WITH THE NRN COUNTIES IN THE RRQ. WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWING DARK BAND
FM CA INTO SW MAN AND SPREADING NE. SHORT WV OVR SRN SASK IS
REASONABLE. QUITE UNSTABLE ATMOS WITH LIS AS LOW AS -12 OVR N CNTRL
ND. SFC BASED CAPES 1500+ J/KG OVR NW COUNTIES ACCORDING TO THE MESO
ETA. HOWEVER CINS WERE ALSO FAIRLY HI. ETA MODEL SNDGS SHOW WM AIR
ARND 700 HPA WAS CREATING THE HI CINS. 700 HA CAA FCST OVR THE NRN
COUNTIES TNGT. BACKING WND PROFILE ENTERING SW MAN AND IS FCST TO
SHFT INTO SW ONT BY MORN. BACKING ALSO OCCURS ACRS ND TNGT BUT LAGS
THE CAA ACRS SRN MAN LEAVING LOW LVL CONVERGENCE ACRS THE NRN VLY BY
MIDN. MESO SCALE ANLYS HAS SFC PRES RISES MOVG INTO SW MAN AND NW
ND. GOOD SFC MSTR FLUX CONVERGENCE INDICATED FM NR BIS INTO TOWNER
COUNTY AS SFC WNDS HAVE BECM NW IN WRN ND. KMBX VAD WND HAD A LGT NW
WND IN THE FIRST 2 THSD FT. KBIS AND KMVX VAD WND HAD A SOUTH WND
30-35KTS BLO 5-6 THSD FT. NNW-SSE AXIS OF SFC MIXING RATIOS OF
16G/KG WAS OVR THE ERN HALF OF ND AND ADJ PARTS OF MN. FAST MOVG
TSRA HAS MOVD INTO NW ND AND TSRA HAVE DEVELOPED IN SE MAN JUST N OF
THE INTERNATIONAL BDR. SO WL FOCUS ON TSRA MAINLY OVR NRN COUNTIES
TNGT. WL CHECK ZONES.

.FGF...NONE.
HOPPES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 12, 2:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFMarshall, Roseau62 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.