Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 342, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 17, 2001Becker County, Otter Tail County, Wilkin County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 2001, 5:29 PM CDT for Becker County, Otter Tail County, Wilkin County, Minnesota. It was in force for 46 min. 2 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 17, 2001, 5:29 PM CDT (22:29 UTC)
Expired: Aug 17, 2001, 6:15 PM CDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Becker County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Wilkin County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 161 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:30 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 17, 5:55 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Fergus Falls, MN
Aug 17, 6:25 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Battle 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 17, 5:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 253 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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1228 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 21 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.

172 
WUUS53 KFGF 172229
SVRFAR
MNC005-111-167-172315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
529 PM CDT FRI AUG 17 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  SOUTHEASTERN BECKER COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...
  OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND
  WILKIN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.  
  INCLUDING THE CITY OF FERGUS FALLS...

* UNTIL 615 PM CDT.

* AT 524 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE
  LEADING EDGE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 31
  MILES EAST OF DETROIT LAKES TO 18 MILES NORTHEAST OF FERGUS FALLS
  TO 15 MILES NORTH OF WAHPETON...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 20 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...

  PERHAM AT 530 PM...
  BUTLER AT 535 PM...
  HILLVIEW AT 545 PM AND
  EDWARDS AT 550 PM.

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

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM FRIDAY
EVENING FOR WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4688 9523 4655 9598 4651 9666 4620 9638
          4620 9552 4670 9520


$$
55

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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 17, 2:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 2:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
255 PM CDT FRI AUG 17 2001

DISCUSSION ABREVIATED DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER IN AREA.

FCST CHALLENGE...DURATION OF CONVECTION INTO THIS EVENING IN NW MN.

NEAR TERM/ANALYSIS...SFC CDFRNT EXTENDING FM SFC LOW IN WRN
ONT...VCNTY GFK...INTO NWRN SD....AND DROPPING SWD THROUGH THE FGF
CWFA ATTM. CONVECTION HAS INTENSIFIED ALG AND AHD OF THIS FRONT FM
DVL TO BJI...IN AREA OF MAX INSTABILITY. AREA PROGRESSES SWD THROUGH
THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...SO WILL INCLUDE
MENTION OF EVENING STORMS ALG AND SOUTH OF A VALLEY
CITY...MAYVILLE...TVF AND BDE LINE. AVN AND ETA HAVE SOME INITIAL
DISPARITY THROUGH 00Z BUT LINE UP WELL 12-60HRS. EXPECT CLEARING RRV
AND WEST TNGT WITH SOME RESIDUAL MVFR-VFR CIGS IN NW MN THROUGH THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS. NWLY WINDS ROX-DTL-PKD LIKELY TO GO CALM AT SFC SO
AREAS PATCHY FOG EXPECTED.

SATURDAY...EXPECT LOW CLDS TO BREAK AND SCATTER THROUGH MIDDAY OVR
NW MN...WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ELSEWHERE. SFC HIGH PRES DOMINATES
SRN MAN INTO ND/MN AREA WITH LIGHT NLY BLAYER FLOW THROUGH DAY ON
SAT. RETURN SLY FLOW DEVELOPS SUNDAY AHD OF APPROACHING SFC TROF.
WILL INCLUDE SUN PM GROUP FOR TSTMS. WILL GO WITH SLIGHTLY WARMER
NGM MOS TEMPS TROUGH PACKAGE.

EXTENDED...MRF...UKMET AND CANADIAN MODELS SIMILAR...WITH ECMWF
QUITE DIFFERENT. UPPER LEVEL W FLOW DOMINATES...WITH STG SHRTWV
ACTIVITY THROUGH EXTENDED PERIOD. EACH DAY HAS TSTM EXPECTATION WITH
SIG MCS AND ADDN HEAVY RAINS SUGGESTED TUES PM INTO WED.

.FGF...NONE.

GUST/NG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 17, 4:08 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
408 PM CDT FRI AUG 17 2001

CORRECTION FOR HAIL SIZE

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

0208 PM    4 SE HOOPLE               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   WALSH

0213 PM    NASH                      ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   WALSH

0235 PM    3 N ROSEWOOD              MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   MARSHALL

0255 PM    3 SW THIEF RIVER FALLS    MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   PENNINGTON

0305 PM    DRAYTON                   ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   PEMBINA

0310 PM    DOROTHY                   MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   RED LAKE

0315 PM    6 SE EUCLID               MN   1.50 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   POLK                           WALNUT SIZE HAIL

0315 PM    2 NE OAKWOOD              ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   WALSH

0320 PM    1 NE HUOT                 MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   RED LAKE

0335 PM    PLUMMER                   MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   RED LAKE

0340 PM    MINTO                     ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   WALSH

0340 PM    4 N LUVERNE               ND   1.25 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   STEELE                         DIME TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE
                                          HAIL

0340 PM    1 S BROOKS                MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/17/01   RED LAKE                       GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 17, 1:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson	52 min
Aug 17, 2:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami	46 min
Aug 17, 2:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Marshall, Pennington	48 min
Aug 17, 3:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson, Marshall	41 min
Aug 17, 3:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk, Red Lake	38 min
Aug 17, 3:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Roseau	41 min
Aug 17, 3:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk, Red Lake	52 min
Aug 17, 4:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard	45 min
Aug 17, 4:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Marshall, Roseau	43 min
Aug 17, 4:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Mahnomen, Polk	50 min
Aug 17, 4:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Norman	40 min
Aug 17, 4:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Clay, Norman	40 min
Aug 17, 4:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Becker	49 min
Aug 17, 4:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Otter Tail, Wilkin	47 min
Aug 17, 4:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard	44 min
Aug 17, 4:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk	49 min
Aug 17, 5:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Norman	50 min
Aug 17, 5:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Hubbard, Wadena	43 min
Aug 17, 5:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk	41 min
Aug 17, 6:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grant	43 min
Aug 17, 6:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Otter Tail	46 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.