Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 305, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 14, 2001Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 14, 2001, 6:29 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 46 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 14, 2001, 6:29 PM CDT (23:29 UTC)
Expired: Aug 14, 2001, 7:15 PM CDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties

County Polk County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:28 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 14, 6:35 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Harold, MN
Aug 14, 6:35 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Harold, MN	Branches 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 14, 2:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 246 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1464 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 161 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 244 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

847 
WUUS53 KFGF 142329
SVRFAR
MNC119-150015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
629 PM CDT TUE AUG 14 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  SOUTHERN POLK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT.

* AT 623 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CROOKSTON...OR ABOUT 27
  MILES SOUTHEAST OF GRAND FORKS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT
  25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  HAROLD AT 630 PM...
  MELVIN AT 650 PM...
  MAPLE BAY AT 700 PM AND
  FERTILE AT 705 PM.

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

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM TUESDAY
EVENING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.


$$

14

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 14, 2:05 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 2:05 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
205 PM CDT TUE AUG 14 2001

AFTER FURTHER DISCUSSION...WILL GO WITH FLASH FLOOD WATCH INSTEAD OF
FLOOD WATCH AS PREV DISCUSSED IN COORD CALLS.
--------------------------
PREV AFD...

PCPN CHANCES HIGHLIGHT CHALLENGES THIS FCST.  AFTER INTER-OFFICE
COORDINATION AND COORD WITH DLH/BIS WILL ISSUE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR
FAR NE ND AND NW MN (GFK-BJI AND POINTS NORTH) FOR TONIGHT.

.CURRENT...
18Z SFC MAP SHOWS LOW NORTH OF WINNIPEG WITH TROUGH SOUTHWEST TO
NORTH OF MINOT TO ANOTHER WK LOW IN WCNTRL ND.  TSRA CONTINUES TO
DEVELOP ALONG THIS BOUNDARY AND MOVE EAST...MAINLY ACROSS SRN MB.
COLD FRONT LOCATED A BIT FARTHER NORTHWEST AND BEGINNING TO CATCH UP
TO BOUNDARY NORTH OF MINOT AND CAUSING INCREASED CONVECTION ON KMBX
RADAR.  00Z ETA GFK SOUNDING SHOWS FREEZING LEVEL AT 12.6 KFT.

12Z MODELS ARE IN FAIR AGREEMENT...AND LOOK AT UCAR MM5 AND WRF
SUPPORTS THEIR SOLNS OF BRINGING HEAVIEST PCPN DEVELOPING IN FAR NE
ND LATE THIS AFTN AND THEN OVER NW MN BTWN 00-06Z.

.SHORT TERM...
FRONT TO SAG SOUTHEAST ACROSS CWFA TONIGHT...REACHING FAR SE CWFA NR
12Z. EXPECT CONVECTION ALONG FRONT TONIGHT...ENDING NW ZONES BEFORE
MIDNIGHT.  HEAVIEST RAIN POTENTIAL PER DAY1 QPF AND MODEL QPF FROM
GFK-TVF-BJI-BDE ZONES...WHERE THEY HAVE HAD THE MOST RAINS THIS
SUMMER.  AFTER COORD WILL ISSUE AN FFA FOR TONIGHT FOR THAT AREA AS
THAT AREA STANDS THE BEST CHC OF WIDESPREAD 1+ INCH AMOUNTS.  SVR
POTENTIAL ALSO GOOD LATE THIS AFTN/EVE.  MSAS LI TO -10 IN CNTRL ND
WITH THETA E CONVERGENCE CONTINUING ALONG BOUNDARY TO OUR NORTHWEST.
GOOD SHEAR PROFILE AS WELL S-SW WINDS SFC-85H AND W-NW AT 70H SO
SUPERCELLS PSBL.

.LONGER TERM...
OVERNIGHT CONVECTION TO BE EXITING CWFA EARLY WED AM...THEN 50H
TROUGH TO DROP SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA 18-00Z WITH 50H TEMPS TO
-16C.  ETA SOUNDINGS SHOW CONVECTIVE TEMPS NR 70...WHICH WILL BE
REACHED. THUS WILL MAINTAIN POPS FOR TSRA WEDNESDAY PER CURRENT
ZONES.  TROUGH WILL PASS OUT OF AREA WED EVENING FOLLOWED BY HIGH
PRESSURE ON THURSDAY.

.EXTENDED...MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THRU DAY 4 AND THEN SLOWLY
DIVERGE AFTER THEN. MRF SHOWING CONTINUITY WITH PREVIOUS RUN UNTIL
DAY 6 WITH LATEST RUNS DEPICTING A LESS AMPLIFIED PATTERN OVER THE
NRN TIER OF THE U.S. BY THEN. 5H LOW OVER THE NE PACIFIC MOVES ENE
INTO WRN CANADA AS TROF DROPS INTO THE ERN U.S. DAY 3 THRU 5. 5H RDG
MOVES E INTO THE NRN PLAINS BRINGING DRY AND MILD CONDITIONS FOR THE
WEEKEND. CHC FOR PCPN FRI INITIAL TROF PASSAGE AND AGAIN ON MON AS
SECOND SHRT WV MOVES THRU IN NEARLY ZONAL FLOW. BEST CHC FOR PCPN TO
BE OVER THE NE ZONES FRI AND WL BREAK UP EXTENDED TO REFLECT THIS.
NEAR NORMAL LOWS AND BLO NORMAL HIGHS TO PREVAIL THRU THE EXTENDED.

.FGF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT FOR EXTREME NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...FOR AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF A GRAND FORKS
TO BEMIDJI LINE.

DR/RT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 14, 4:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
440 PM CDT TUE AUG 14 2001

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

0220 PM    3 SE HANSBORO             ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/14/01   TOWNER

0248 PM    3 SE SARLES               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/14/01   CAVALIER

0312 PM    4 W DRESDEN               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/14/01   CAVALIER

0328 PM    LANGDON                   ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/14/01   CAVALIER

0345 PM    3 NE OSNABROCK            ND   WIND DAMAGE
08/14/01   CAVALIER                       TREES DOWN

0354 PM    3 SE STARKWEATHER         ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/14/01   RAMSEY

0406 PM    3 SW MOUNTAIN             ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/14/01   PEMBINA

0413 PM    12 E DEVILS LAKE          ND   60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/14/01   RAMSEY

NNNN

Special weather statement, Aug 14, 5:03 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before

MNZ001-NDZ027-150005-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
503 PM CDT TUE AUG 14 2001

...STRONG WINDS TO AFFECT GRAND FORKS AND POLK COUNTIES THIS
EVENING...

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO GRAND FORKS BY 530 PM...THEN
INTO POLK COUNTY THEREAFTER. WIND GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE IN
GRAND FORKS AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. EVEN THOUGH THESE WINDS ARE
NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO PROMPT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING AT THIS
TIME...THE WINDS MAY AFFECT ALREADY DAMAGED TREES IN THE REGION. IN
ADDITION...ANY BRANCHES OR LIMBS ON THE GROUND MAY ALSO BLOW AROUND.
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT FOR THE
AREA...AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT. SO LISTEN FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT.

DJK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 14, 4:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson, Marshall	47 min
Aug 14, 5:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Marshall	42 min
Aug 14, 5:38 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FGF	Kittson, Marshall	6 hr
Aug 14, 5:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk	51 min
Aug 14, 5:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Pennington	45 min
Aug 14, 6:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Red Lake	42 min
Aug 14, 6:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami, Clearwater, Pennington	42 min
Aug 14, 6:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Lake of the Woods	41 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2001 Every 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.