Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 290, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 8, 2001Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 8, 2001, 10:37 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota. It was in force for 53 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 8, 2001, 10:37 PM CDT (03:37 UTC)
Expired
Aug 8, 2001, 11:30 PM CDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Otter Tail County, MN, Wadena County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 201 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:40 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 8, 10:37 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61 EPelican Rapids, MN1000 customers were without power.
Aug 8, 11:00 PM CDTThunderstorm WindPerham, MNPowerlines were blown down.
Aug 8, 11:00 PM CDTThunderstorm WindNew York Mills, MNTrees 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 8, 9:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 215 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 2001-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1585 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 2001-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 31 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1585 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-90 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1503 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

552 
WUUS53 KFGF 090337
SVRFAR
MNC111-159-090430-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
1037 PM CDT WED AUG 8 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  WADENA COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND
  OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.
  INCLUDING THE CITY OF FERGUS FALLS...

* UNTIL 1130 PM CDT.

* AT 1030 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE
  LEADING EDGE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 28
  MILES EAST OF DETROIT LAKES TO 18 MILES SOUTH OF DETROIT LAKES TO 5
  MILES WEST OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 45
  MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...

  DENT AT 1040 PM...
  PERHAM AT 1045 PM...
  FERGUS FALLS AT 1050 PM AND
  BATTLE LAKE AT 1055 PM.

* WINDS TO 70 MPH WINDS WAS REPORTED AT PELICAN RAPIDS AT 1038 PM.

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

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM THURSDAY
MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4667 9524 4656 9599 4618 9626 4605 9515
          4610 9490 4651 9410


$$
DTR/06

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 Aug 8, 9:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 8, 9:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
911 PM CDT WED AUG 8 2001

...DISCUSSION DELAYED DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER...

...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE THIS PACKAGE IS SVR CONVECTION WITH
FROPA...

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW...INTENSE SVR TSTMS HAVE MOVED
THROUGH THE GRAND FORKS METRO AREA. WIND GUSTS TO 101 MPH WERE
RECORDED WITH THE WEATHER OFFICE HERE. BROKEN LINE OF SVR CELLS ARE
ASSOCIATED WITH COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE AREA.

.SHORT TERM...WILL MAKE SHORT TERM ADJUSTMENTS TO ZONES TO ACCOUNT
FOR CURRENT TSTM ACTIVITY. ZONES WILL AGAIN BE UPDATED WHEN WATCH
STATUS CHANGES.

.FGF...TORNADO WATCH 664 UNTIL 11 PM (DUE TO BE REVISED BY 10 PM)

BRAMER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 8, 7:22 PM CDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
722 PM CDT WED AUG 08 2001

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

0245 PM    6 NW PONSFORD             MN   60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01   BECKER

0339 PM    AKELEY                    MN   62 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01   HUBBARD                        MEASURED MN DOT
                                          ROADSIDE SITE

0340 PM    PARK RAPIDS               MN   WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01   HUBBARD                        NUMEROUS TREES DOWN

0600 PM    2 SW MADDOCK              ND   1 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON

0620 PM    4 SW ESMOND               ND   1 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON

0620 PM    9 NW MADDOCK              ND   .88 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON                         4 INCH DIAMETER TREE
                                          BRANCHES ALSO DOWN

0623 PM    5 NE MADDOCK              ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON                         4 INCH DIAMETER TREE
                                          BRANCHES ALSO DOWN

0640 PM    4 NW OBERON               ND   WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01   BENSON                         2 TREES BLOWN DOWN

NNNN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 8, 7:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFMarshall46 min
Aug 8, 8:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFKittson, Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Roseau57 min
Aug 8, 8:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRed Lake57 min
Aug 8, 8:47 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFPolk6 hr
Aug 8, 9:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman42 min
Aug 8, 9:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClearwater, Mahnomen, Polk65 min
Aug 8, 9:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBeltrami, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake65 min
Aug 8, 9:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFLake of the Woods42 min
Aug 8, 9:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay64 min
Aug 8, 9:40 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFNorman6 hr
Aug 8, 9:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWilkin44 min
Aug 8, 9:47 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFClearwater, Polk28 min
Aug 8, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Beltrami, Hubbard60 min
Aug 8, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClearwater, Mahnomen47 min
Aug 8, 11:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFHubbard30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.