Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 257, NWS Twin Cities, MN

August 3, 2002Le Sueur County, Rice County, Scott County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 3, 2002, 7:24 PM CDT for Le Sueur County, Rice County, Scott County, Minnesota. It was in force for 36 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 3, 2002, 7:24 PM CDT (00:24 UTC)
Expired: Aug 3, 2002, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Le Sueur County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:24 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 3, 7:50 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Lydia, MN	Few trees and power lines down.

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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 3, 3:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr
Aug 3, 6:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 37 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 777 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -89 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 509 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

494 
WUUS53 KMPX 040024
SVRMSP
MNC079-131-139-040100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
722 PM CDT SAT AUG 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SCOTT COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  LE SUEUR COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  NORTHERN RICE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 722 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE  
  HAIL FROM 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF NEW PRAGUE...OR ABOUT 16 MILES      
  SOUTHWEST OF BURNSVILLE...SOUTH TO NEAR LE CENTER. THIS STORM WAS 
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. 

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  ELKO.
  HEIDELBERG.
  LONSDALE.
  MONTGOMERY.
  NEW MARKET.
  NEW PRAGUE.
  PRIOR LAKE.

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE
WARNING.

LAT...LON 4449 9380 4434 9339 4439 9327 4469 9334
          4477 9341

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 3, 7:26 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MPX	Carver, Dakota, Scott	4 hr
Aug 3, 7:49 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MPX	Sibley	3 hr
Aug 3, 7:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet, Sibley, Watonwan	52 min
Aug 3, 8:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Le Sueur, Scott	42 min
Aug 3, 8:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Blue Earth, Rice, Steele, Waseca	55 min
Aug 3, 9:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Dakota	40 min
Aug 3, 9:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Goodhue	39 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.