Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 348, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 21, 2001Kittson County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 2001, 10:59 PM CDT for Kittson County, Minnesota. It was in force for 46 min. 1 report 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 21, 2001, 10:59 PM CDT (03:59 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2001, 11:45 PM CDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Kittson County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 162 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:59 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 21, 11:15 PM CDTThunderstorm WindOrleans, MNBranches 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 nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 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 2001-08-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1043 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2001-08-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1043 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1232 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

519 
WUUS53 KFGF 220359
SVRFAR
MNC069-220445-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
1059 PM CDT TUE AUG 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  KITTSON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 1145 PM CDT.

* AT 1053 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES NORTH OF ORLEANS...OR ABOUT 49 MILES
  NORTH OF GRAFTON...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  ORLEANS AT 1105 PM...
  LANCASTER AT 1115 PM...
  LAKE BRONSON AT 1135 PM AND
  HALMA AT 1140 PM.

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

LAT...LON 4917 9695 4905 9715 4857 9657 4873 9637


$$
BERG

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 21, 8:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 8:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
820 PM CDT TUE AUG 21 2001

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW...
00Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED RATHER DIFFUSE AND BENIGN PRESSURE
PATTERN OVER REGION WITH LOW PRESSURE OVER CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA
AND ASSOCIATED INVERTED TROUGH AXIS NORTH INTO WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA.
LATEST RADAR MOSAIC INDICATED WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FIRING
IN HIGHLY UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT FROM JUST WEST OF LANGDON TO
SOUTHEAST OF MINOT.

.FORECAST DETAILS...
EXPECT ACTIVITY TO WEAKEN AFTER DARK CHECK SPC MESOSCALE DISCUSSION
FOR FURTHER DETAILS. WILL UPDATE ZONES BY LATE EVENING TO ADDRESS
CONVECTIVE TRENDS...OTHERWISE NO MAJOR REVISIONS PLANNED.

.FGF...NONE.

BERG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 21, 9:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
900 PM CDT TUE AUG 21 2001

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

0815 PM    13 E HANSBORO             ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/21/01   TOWNER                         GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL

0820 PM    14 SE HANSBORO            ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/21/01   TOWNER                         GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL

0830 PM    2 NW CALVIN               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/21/01   CAVALIER                       PENNY SIZED HAIL

NNNN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 22, 12:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFKittson60 min
Aug 22, 1:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFKittson61 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.