Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 237

May 5, 20007 counties in Minnesota; 16 counties in North Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 5, 2000, 9:15 PM CDT for 7 counties in Minnesota; 16 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 5, 2000, 9:15 PM CDT (02:15 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2000, 3:00 AM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 23 counties

Kittson County, MN, Lake of the Woods County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Barnes County, ND, Eddy County, ND, Emmons County, ND, Foster County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, Kidder County, ND, LaMoure County, ND, Logan County, ND, McIntosh County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Sioux County, ND, Steele County, ND, Stutsman County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:15 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.

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 5, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami, Lake of the Woods, Roseau	42 min
May 5, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Marshall	42 min
May 5, 9:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Griggs, Nelson, Steele	42 min
May 5, 9:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grand Forks	42 min
May 5, 10:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Lake of the Woods	37 min
May 5, 10:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Griggs	40 min
May 5, 10:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Griggs, Steele	33 min
May 5, 11:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson, Roseau	32 min
May 5, 11:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Lake of the Woods	30 min
May 6, 1:40 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Benson, Eddy	30 min
May 6, 2:53 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Nelson, Walsh	32 min

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 150 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1703 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -86 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1710 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

538 
WWUS9 KMKC 060147
SEL7  

SEL7  
MKC WW 060147
MNZ000-NDZ000-060800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 237
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
847 PM CDT FRI MAY 5 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTHWEST MINNESOTA                          
   SOUTHERN AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA                       

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 915 PM UNTIL
300 AM CDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES SOUTH OF BISMARCK NORTH
DAKOTA TO 10 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF WARROAD MINNESOTA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE CONTINUING TO DEVELOP AND INTENSIFY
ALONG AND NORTH OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING FROM NORTHERN
MINNESOTA INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA.  AIR MASS ALONG THE
BOUNDARY IS QUITE UNSTABLE WITH MUCAPE TO 3000 J/KG.  STRONG SWLY
FLOW IN THE MID LEVELS IS CONTRIBUTING TO STRONG VERTICAL SHEAR
ENHANCING POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS.  CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING
SOUTHWESTWARD INTO SOUTHERN NORTH DAKOTA AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES
ACROSS THE ROCKIES TONIGHT. 


AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.  MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...WEISS

485,0932 455,0991 455,1021 485,0964

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Dakota, 2000 Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Minnesota, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.