Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Duluth, MN

August 20, 2003Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

NWS Duluth, MN issued this tornado warning at Aug 20, 2003, 7:56 PM CDT for Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It was in force for 64 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
Aug 20, 2003, 7:56 PM CDT (00:56 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 2003, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Duluth, MN
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Lake County, MN, Saint Louis County, MN

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 30 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:54 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 20, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 194 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2003-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 219 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2003-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 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
219 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-150 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1127 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
6 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.

000 
WFUS53 KDLH 210056
TORDLH
MNC075-137-210200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
754 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LAKE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MINNESOTA
  SOUTHEAST ST. LOUIS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 900 PM CDT

* AT 754 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
  A TORNADO 12 MILES WEST OF ALGER...OR ABOUT 24 MILES NORTH OF
  DULUTH...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  PARADISE LAKE AROUND 800 PM...
  CHRIS LAKE AROUND 803 PM...
  ALGER...YORK...AND STEWART AROUND 805 PM...
   
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT OR A SMALL
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME...
CAMPER OR ARE CAUGHT OUTDOORS SEEK STURDY SHELTER. AS A LAST
RESORT...LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD

LAT...LON 4705 9226 4689 9214 4707 9157 4725 9169

$$

CRS/MRS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 7:06 PM CDTTornado WarningDLHSaint Louis54 min
Aug 20, 7:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHSaint Louis60 min
Aug 20, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHAitkin, Carlton, Saint Louis53 min
Aug 20, 8:04 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningDLH86 min
Aug 20, 8:11 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningDLH79 min
Aug 20, 8:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHSaint Louis55 min
Aug 20, 8:54 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningDLH2 hr
Aug 20, 9:02 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningDLH118 min
Aug 20, 9:02 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningDLH118 min
Aug 20, 9:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHLake28 min
Aug 20, 9:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCook66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.