Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 343, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 2, 2002, 7:51 AM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 39 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
- Sep 2, 2002, 7:51 AM CDT (12:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 2, 2002, 8:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 39 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), 183 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:51 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.
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 12:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 231 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
- 2159 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -235 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 827 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 168 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 203 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
770 WUUS53 KFGF 021251 SVRFAR MNC111-021330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 751 AM CDT MON SEP 2 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. * UNTIL 830 AM CDT. * AT 746 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTH OF AMOR...OR ABOUT 17 MILES EAST OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 45 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... OTTERTAIL AT 755 AM... HENNING AT 805 AM AND DEER CREEK AT 810 AM. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. LAT...LON 4644 9581 4626 9577 4630 9526 4650 9530 7 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 Sep 2, 1:50 AM CDT, 6 hours 1 minute earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 1:50 AM CDT, 6 hours 1 minute before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 150 AM CDT MON SEP 2 2002 ...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE THIS PACKAGE CENTERS ON LINGERING POP THREAT THIS MORNING AND WIND POTENTIAL WITH STRENGTHENING NORTHWEST PRESSURE GRADIENT IN WAKE OF FRONT REMAINDER OF DAY... .CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW... 06Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED LOW PRESSURE OVER EXTREME WESTERN MANITOBA PROVINCE WITH ASSOCIATED PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH AXIS ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. FURTHER UPSTREAM PARENT COLD FRONT WAS SITUATED FROM EXTREME SOUTHEAST SASK PROVINCE TO WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. LATEST PRESSURE TENDENCY FIELDS SUGGESTS GOOD RISE/FALL COUPLE ASSOCIATED WITH FEATURE. LATEST RADAR MOSAIC INDICATED SOME CONVECTIVE TYPE MAINLY HIGH BASED SHOWER ACTIVITY (LITTLE IF ANY LIGHTNING STRIKES) IN VICINITY OF ENHANCED MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE AHEAD OF COLD FRONT. .FORECAST DETAILS... FINALLY LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL WITH RESPECT TO CONVECTIVE THREAT ACROSS THE REGION. EXPECT STRONG UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO FINALLY KICK PARENT COLD FRONT THROUGH AREA THIS MORNING. REVIEW OF FORECASTED SOUNDINGS SUGGESTS THE POTENTIAL FOR ELEVATED CONVECTION WITH FROPA...PER INVERTED V SOUNDING (STEEP LAPSE RATES 850-700MB LAYER) FOR AREAS FROM THE RED RIVER VALLEY EAST EARLY TODAY. IN WAKE OF FRONT GOOD NORTHWESTERLY PUNCH OF DRIER AIR ADVECTS INTO THE REGION. TIGHTENING NORTHWESTERLY PRESSURE GRADIENT COUPLED WITH UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW WITH HEIGHT AND ADIABATIC MIXING LAYER TO ALMOST 700MB SHOULD RESULT IN WINDY CONDITIONS. BASED ON LATEST GUIDANCE FEEL WINDS WILL STAY JUST BELOW WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA. EXPECT WINDS TO ABATE AND DECOUPLE TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS RIDGES INTO THE DAKOTAS. FRIENDLY CONFINES OF HIGH SHOULD SLOWLY ERODE AND SLIP AWAY LATE TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT AS SOUTHERLY FLOW BECOMES ESTABLISHED ONCE AGAIN ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AHEAD DEEPENING NORTHWEST CONUS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. NO CHANGES PLANNED TO EXTENDED PACKAGE PENDING NO REAL SURPRISES WITH NEW MRF. .FGF...NONE. BERG
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 2, 6:45 AM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-021400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 645 AM CDT MON SEP 2 2002 ...NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA TODAY OR TONIGHT... SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO SWEEP EAST OF THE REGION TODAY. IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL RIDGE INTO THE REGION. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EAST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY THIS MORNING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE FRONT...HOWEVER NONE OF THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE. BERG NNNN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 5:55 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clay | 50 min |
| Sep 2, 8:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Wadena | 41 min |
| Sep 2, 8:34 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Wadena | 41 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.