Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 175, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 30, 2003Otter Tail County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 30, 2003, 6:44 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 46 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
Jul 30, 2003, 6:44 PM CDT (23:44 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 2003, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
46 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), 184 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:47 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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 229 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 2003-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 528 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2003-07-30The 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
528 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-56 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
809 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
70 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

294 
WUUS53 KFGF 302344
SVRFGF
MNC111-310030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
643 PM CDT WED JUL 30 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  CENTRAL OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT.

* AT 642 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PHELPS...OR ABOUT 16 MILES
  EAST OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
  HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IS LIKELY.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  BATTLE LAKE AT 645 PM...
  CLITHERALL AT 655 PM...
  VINING AT 700 PM AND
  HENNING AT 705 PM.

REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

LAT...LON 4647 9580 4630 9591 4613 9541 4631 9528

$$

DTR/06

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 Jul 30, 3:30 PM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 3:30 PM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
330 PM CDT WED JUL 30 2003

.SHORT TERM...
WATER VAPOR SHOWING UPPER LEVEL LOW NORTH OF LAKE OF THE WOODS
COUNTY. UPPER LOW WILL PARK OVER NORTHEAST MN FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
VORICITY LOBES ROTATING AROUND UPPER LOW WILL CREATE PERIODS OF
LIGHT SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY. COLD
POOL ALOFT WILL ENHANCE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IN THE
AFTERNOON/EVENING. WATER VAPOR HAS VORTICITY LOBES OVER NORTHEAST
ND, EASTERN SASKATCHEWAN AND WESTERN ONTARIO THAT ARE ROTATING
AROUND SYSTEM. 88D SHOWING PRECIPITATION DEVELOPING ACROSS MUCH OF
THE CWFA WITH MOST OF THE ACTIVITY IN AN EAST-WEST BAND ACROSS THE
CENTRAL PART OF THE AREA. CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES ARE BEING REACHED
THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECT MUCH OF THE SAME SCENARIO FOR THE NEXT FEW
DAYS. WILL ADD CHANCE OF RAIN FOR DVL GROUP FOR TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY NIGHT. WILL KEEP PRECIPITATION OUT FOR FRIDAY IN DVL AS
UPPER LOW DRIFTS SLOWLY EAST. WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT PRECIPITATION
EAST SATURDAY.

.EXTENDED...

EXTENDED MODELS OVERALL IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH PERIOD.
CONSENSUS IS FOR SLOWER SOLUTION WITH UPPER LOW TRACKING SLOWLY EAST
ACROSS GREAT LAKES REGION KEEPING FA IN NW FLOW ALOFT THROUGH MOST
OF THE PERIOD. WEDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE LOOKS TO BE IN CONTROL INTO
NEXT WEEK. FA SHOULD BE JUST FAR ENOUGH WEST OF ANY IMPULSES
ROTATING AROUND UPPER LOW TO KEEP PERIOD FOR THE MOST PART DRY.
THERMAL RIDGE REMAINS TO OUR WEST WITH ONLY GRADUAL WARMING MID WEEK
OTHERWISE TEMPS SHOULD BE AT OR A LITTLE BELOW SEASONAL AVERAGES.

.FGF...NONE.

HOPPES/VOELKER
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 30, 6:50 AM CDT, 11 hours 54 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-301430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
650 AM CDT WED JUL 30 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST
CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE PORTION
OF NORTHWEST AND WESTCENTRAL MINNESOTA JUST EAST OF THE RED RIVER
VALLEY BEGINNING IN EARLY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING INTO EARLY
EVENING. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED OVER THE
NORTH PORTION OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY. ONE CAN EXPECT MAINLY LARGE
HAIL AND A FEW DOWNBURSTS CAUSING HIGH WIND IN THESE THUNDERSTORMS
DUE TO A COLD UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING SOUTH FROM
MANITOBA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THERE IS A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE
REGION...MAINLY ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND THEY
MAY DEVELOP AGAIN OVER THE MINNESOTA PORTION ON FRIDAY. THE NEXT
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE IN AND WESTWARD FROM THE RED
RIVER VALLEY ON TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

GV

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 29, 7:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFHubbard44 min
Jul 30, 10:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBeltrami, Clearwater41 min
Jul 30, 10:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFHubbard47 min
Jul 30, 6:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFOtter Tail28 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.