Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 238, NWS Twin Cities, MN

July 31, 2002Stearns County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 31, 2002, 9:44 AM CDT for Stearns 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 as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 31, 2002, 9:44 AM CDT (14:44 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 2002, 10:30 AM CDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Stearns County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:44 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
Jul 31, 9:50 AM CDTHail 0.75Albany, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 112 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2002-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 595 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2002-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 152 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
595 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-303 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1887 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
296 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

693 
WUUS53 KMPX 311444
SVRMSP
MNC145-311530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
943 AM CDT WED JUL 31 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  STEARNS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 1030 AM CDT

* AT 943 AM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE
  HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF ST MARTIN...OR ABOUT
  26 MILES WEST OF ST CLOUD...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  ALBANY...ST JOSEPH...COLD SPRING...ROCKVILLE AND ST CLOUD.

LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. TAKE COVER
IN A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 4565 9481 4547 9482 4541 9411 4576 9429

The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXBrown40 min
Jul 30, 7:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXBlue Earth39 min
Jul 31, 4:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXWright35 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.