Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 272, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 26, 2002Otter Tail County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 26, 2002, 8:24 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 51 min. 1 report 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: Aug 26, 2002, 8:24 PM CDT (01:24 UTC)
Expired: Aug 26, 2002, 9:15 PM CDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Otter Tail County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 168 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:26 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 26, 8:52 PM CDT	Hail 1	Elizabeth, 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.

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, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 245 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: 1091 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1273 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -1 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.

120 
WUUS53 KFGF 270124
SVRFAR
MNC111-270215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
824 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  CENTRAL OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT.

* AT 821 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF EDWARDS...OR ABOUT 11
  MILES NORTHEAST OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 15
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  PHELPS AT 835 PM...
  AMOR AT 840 PM...
  OTTERTAIL LAKE AT 850 PM AND
  RICHVILLE AT 855 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 MONDAY
EVENING FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4651 9608 4633 9606 4633 9531 4658 9533


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 Aug 26, 8:15 PM CDT, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 26, 8:15 PM CDT, 9 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
815 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

MAIN CHALLENGE YET THIS EVENING IS ONGOING SEVERE WEATHER. SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR A PORTION OF WESTERN FA UNTIL 9 PM
CDT. HOWEVER...QUITE A BIT OF SEVERE WEATHER CONTINUES OVER THE
ENTIRE AREA...NOT JUST THE WATCH AREA. LATEST SFC MAP SHOWS WEAK SFC
LOW OVER THE CENTRAL DAKOTAS WITH A NUMBER OF BOUNDARIES OVER THE
FA. WITH WEAK WIND FLOW THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COLUMN...HARD TO PICK
OUT EXACTLY WHERE THE MAIN BOUNDARIES ARE. HOWEVER...THERE WAS A
WARM FRONT OVER THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE FA EARLIER WITH TEMPS
SURGING TO AROUND 90. THIS BOUNDARY APPEARS TO BE SAGGING SLOWLY
SOUTHWARD INTO WEST CENTRAL MN WHERE PLENTY OF MOISTURE REMAINS.
12Z/18Z ETA/AVN SHOW ANOTHER VORTICITY LOBE MOVING INTO THIS AREA
AROUND 06Z. SECOND AREA OF CONVECTION OVER NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAIN WAVE WHICH SHOWS UP WELL ON WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY. THIS AREA ALSO HAS THE BEST INSTABILITY ON MSAS...WITH SFC
BASED LIS TO -11. THEREFORE EXPECT SEVERE WEATHER THREAT TO
CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH THE WATCH EXPIRATION TIME AND LIKELY
AFTER. THIS COVERED WELL IN CURRENT ZONES. WILL WAIT TO SEE WHAT SPC
DECIDES TO DO WITH WATCHES BEFORE UPDATING SINCE WATCH WILL BE ONLY
BIG ZONE CHANGE.

.FGF...NONE.

GODON

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 26, 6:21 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
621 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

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

0620 PM    CANDO                     ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   TOWNER                         REPORTED BY CO-OP
                                          OBSERVER.

DPORTER

Local storm report, Aug 26, 6:51 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
651 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

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

0615 PM    WINGER                    MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   POLK                           HAIL ONE INCH DEEP ON
                                          GROUND.

DPORTER

Local storm report, Aug 26, 7:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
711 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

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

0630 PM    4 NE WASKISH              MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   BELTRAMI                       HAIL FELL FOR 15 MINUTES.

0640 PM    5 NW BISBEE               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   TOWNER

0705 PM    PARK RIVER                ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   WALSH

DPORTER

Local storm report, Aug 26, 7:18 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
718 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

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

0716 PM    PARK RIVER                ND   1.25 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   WALSH

DPORTER

Local storm report, Aug 26, 7:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
720 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

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

0718 PM    PARK RIVER                ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   WALSH                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT.

DPORTER

Local storm report, Aug 26, 7:49 PM CDT, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
749 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2002

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

0600 AM    3 E RANUM                 MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   NORMAN

0610 PM    FERTILE                   MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   POLK

0615 PM    3 NW BEJOU                MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   MAHNOMEN

0700 PM    5 SW BORUP                MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   NORMAN

0700 PM    7 NW FELTON               MN   .88 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   CLAY

0720 PM    2 SW FELTON               MN   .75 INCH HAIL
08/26/02   CLAY

0730 PM    3 NW FELTON               MN   WIND DAMAGE
08/26/02   CLAY                           3 INCH TREE BRANCHES DOWN.
                                          REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

DPORTER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 26, 7:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Lake of the Woods	46 min
Aug 26, 7:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Clay	52 min
Aug 26, 7:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Becker	46 min
Aug 26, 7:58 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Becker	47 min
Aug 26, 11:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Polk	42 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.