Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 230, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 16, 2002Wilkin County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 2002, 10:34 PM CDT for Wilkin County, Minnesota. It was in force for 41 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 16, 2002, 10:34 PM CDT (03:34 UTC)
Expired: Aug 16, 2002, 11:15 PM CDT
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Wilkin County, MN

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 16, 6:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr
Aug 16, 10:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 224 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: 134 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -501 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 802 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 272 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 424 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

833 
WUUS53 KFGF 170334
SVRFAR
MNC167-170415-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
1034 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  WILKIN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 1115 PM CDT.

* AT 1029 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES WEST OF LAWNDALE...OR ABOUT 17 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF WAHPETON...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 50 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  LAWNDALE AT 1045 PM AND
  FOXHOME AT 1050 PM.

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

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT SATURDAY
MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4659 9671 4621 9654 4618 9630 4658 9632


55

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 16, 8:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 8:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
845 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

TWO CHALLENGES REMAIN FOR THIS EVENING...FIRST IS CONVECTION AND THE
SECOND IS WIND. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
SOUTHWEST PORTIONS OF THE FA UNTIL MIDNIGHT. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS
THE BEST THREAT MAY BE SHIFTING FURTHER SOUTH...WITH MORE WIDESPREAD
SHOWER/WEAKER TSTORM ACTIVITY FOR THIS AREA. STILL SOME BOUNDARIES
APPARENT ON THE KMVX 88D THAT MAY INTERSECT AND PROVIDE SOME SEVERE
WEATHER. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR BUT EXPECT LITTLE CHANGE TO
THUNDER WORDING IN ZONES. HIGH WIND WATCH ALSO LEFT OVER FROM DAY
SHIFT. APPEARS THAT BEST SFC PRESSURE GRADIENT IS OVER SOUTHWEST ND.
SEEING QUITE A FEW GUSTS IN THAT AREA OVER 50 KNOTS. 12Z/18Z MODEL
RUNS NOT HANDLING THE SFC LOW TRACK VERY WELL. MSAS 3 HOUR PRESSURE
FALLS STILL BEST EAST OF THE LOW (NOT NORTHEAST). THIS FURTHER
SOUTHWARD TRACK WOULD FAVOR A FURTHER SOUTHWARD PUSH OF THE
STRONGEST WINDS. THE EARLIER MODEL RUNS ALSO SHOW BEST PUSH OF COLD
ADVECTION OVER THE FA FROM 06Z-12Z WHICH CORRESPONDS TO THE COLD
FRONTAL PASSAGE. AVN LOOKS TO BE DOING A SLIGHTLY BETTER JOB SHOWING
THE BEST 850 MB WIND SURGE FROM WESTERN ND AND SOUTHEAST UNTIL
06Z...THEN THE AVN IS WEAKER ON 850 MB WIND SPEEDS AFTER 12Z THAN
THE ETA. WILL THEREFORE GO WITH A WIND ADVISORY FOR THE ENTIRE FA
FOR LATE TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

.FGF...WIND ADVISORY FOR LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY ENTIRE FA.

GODON

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 16, 9:57 PM CDT, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
957 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

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

0905 PM    5 E GRANDIN               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/16/02   CASS

0930 PM    9 NE ADA                  MN   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/16/02   NORMAN

PVB

Local storm report, Aug 16, 10:08 PM CDT, 26 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
1008 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

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

0940 PM    4 E KATHRYN               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/16/02   BARNES

PVB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 16, 9:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Norman	29 min
Aug 16, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk	50 min
Aug 16, 9:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Mahnomen, Norman	46 min
Aug 16, 9:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Otter Tail	44 min
Aug 16, 10:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Clay	46 min
Aug 16, 10:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Becker	41 min
Aug 16, 10:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Otter Tail	52 min
Aug 16, 11:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Hubbard	50 min
Aug 16, 11:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Becker	30 min
Aug 16, 11:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Otter Tail	50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2002 Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.