Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 6, NWS Twin Cities, MN

April 16, 2002Stearns County, Todd County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 16, 2002, 8:34 PM CDT for Stearns County, Todd County, Minnesota. It was in force for 56 min. 3 reports 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: Apr 16, 2002, 8:34 PM CDT (01:34 UTC)
Expired: Apr 16, 2002, 9:30 PM CDT
In force: 56 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Stearns County, MN, Todd County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 155 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:33 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
Apr 16, 8:55 PM CDT	Hail 0.88	Staples, MN
Apr 16, 8:55 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Sauk Centre, MN	Numerous trees down in Sinclair Lewis Park.
Apr 16, 9:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Brooten, MN	Trees 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
Apr 16, 5:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 153 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: 1904 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -135 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1836 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 207 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 225 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KMPX 170134
SVRMSP
MNC145-153-170230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
832 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 930 PM CDT

* AT 832 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE
  HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS 15 MILES WEST OF ELROSA...OR ABOUT 9       
  MILES  SOUTHEAST OF GLENWOOD...MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  LONG PRAIRIE.
  SAUK CENTRE.
  MELROSE

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

LAT...LON 4569 9514 4546 9513 4548 9466 4627 9478
          4628 9510

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 16, 7:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine	44 min
Apr 16, 7:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Pope, Swift	53 min
Apr 16, 8:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Brown, Martin, Redwood, Watonwan	48 min
Apr 16, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Renville	60 min
Apr 16, 9:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Meeker, Stearns, Wright	39 min
Apr 16, 9:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Benton, Morrison	31 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.