Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 132, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 21, 2002, 6:45 AM CDT for Grant County, Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota. It was in force for 60 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 21, 2002, 6:45 AM CDT (11:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 21, 2002, 7:45 AM CDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Grant County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Wadena County, MN
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 195 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:49 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 7:00 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Battle Lake, MN | Numerous trees were blown down, several falling on garages. |
| Jul 21, 7:10 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Henning, MN | Power poles were blown down by the strong wind. A tree also fell on the city playground equipment, causing a total loss. A new church being constructed was also flattened. |
| Jul 21, 7:28 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 M | Verndale, MN | A MNDOT RWIS site measured a 60 mph wind gust. |
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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 219 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4791 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -73 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 842 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 269 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 412 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 7.4
- Supercell composite
- 49.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
850 WUUS53 KFGF 211145 SVRFAR MNC051-111-159-211245- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 644 AM CDT SUN JUL 21 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... WADENA COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA... GRANT COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND SOUTHERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. * UNTIL 745 AM CDT. * AT 643 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE LEADING EDGE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FERGUS FALLS TO 34 MILES SOUTH OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. * SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR... HOFFMAN AT 645 AM... FERGUS FALLS AT 650 AM... DALTON AT 655 AM AND ERDAHL AT 700 AM. THIS THUNDERSTORM HAS A HISTORY OF DAMAGING WINDS...EXPECT WIND GUST UP TO 90 MPH WITH THIS STORM. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. LAT...LON 4629 9628 4574 9595 4624 9455 4664 9489 8 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 Jul 21, 2:05 AM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 2:05 AM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 205 AM CDT SUN JUL 21 2002 FORECAST CHALLENGE IS PRECIP THREAT TODAY...THEN TEMPS .OVERVIEW... MAIN SFC COLD FRONT STILL SLOWLY PUSHING INTO NORTHEAST ND THIS AM...WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE/INSTABILITY FROM GFK AND POINTS SOUTH AND EAST. ONE AREA OF ELEVATED CONVECTION IN CENTRAL MN JUST EAST OF AREA IN STRONG 850MB WARM AIR ADVECTION...ANOTHER PUSHING INTO NORTH CENTRAL SD IN LEFT EXIT REGION OF 40KT 850MB JET AHEAD OF 500MB SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO WESTERN DAKOTAS. MODELS STILL HAVING HARD TIME WITH CURRENT SET UP...BUT ETA DID BEST WITH MOISTURE/INSTABILITY SO WILL UTILIZE. .SHORT TERM... WILL MENTION PATCHY FOG IN ALL BUT NORTHERN ZONES THIS MORNING...WITH ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND WEAK SFC FLOW. MAIN 850MB FRONT AND UPPER SUPPORT MOVES THROUGH REGION TODAY...EXPECT A ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN 2/3 OF FA SOUTH OF A GFK TO BJI LINE. CAPES STILL AROUND 2000J/KG FROM 12-18Z IN FAR SOUTH...SO WOULDN/T RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SEVERE EVENT HERE WITH NEW SLIGHT RISK AREA IN SWODY1 NEAR SOUTHEAST REGION. BEST 850MB COOLING WORKS INTO REGION THIS AFTERNOON...SO ONLY THING THAT WILL LIMIT INSOLATION IS CLOUD COVER. EXPECT TEMPS TO BE ABOUT 5 DEGREES COOLER THAN YESTERDAY...AS DRIER AIR FILTERS INTO REGION BY AFTERNOON. .LONG TERM... 850MB TEMPS COOL TO AROUND +8C BY MONDAY AFTERNOON...AS DRY HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OVER REGION BY TUESDAY. THIS WILL MEAN TEMPS BELOW NORMAL FOR MONDAY TUESDAY...WITH LOWS TUESDAY MORNING INTO THE UPPER 40S NORTH TO AROUND 50 SOUTH...ALMOST 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. .EXTENDED... NO CHANGES PLANNED AT THIS TIME. .FGF...NONE. KELLENBENZ
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 5:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grant, Otter Tail, Wilkin | 57 min |
| Jul 21, 7:43 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Wadena | 32 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002
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.