Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 20, NWS Grand Forks, ND

June 6, 2003Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 6, 2003, 4:11 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 49 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
Jun 6, 2003, 4:11 PM CDT (21:11 UTC)
Expired
Jun 6, 2003, 5:00 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Polk County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:11 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

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 215 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 12:00Z on 2003-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 19 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2003-06-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 27 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
19 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-134 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1304 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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.

048 
WUUS53 KFGF 062111
SVRFGF
MNC119-062200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
411 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  SOUTHEASTERN POLK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 500 PM CDT.

* AT 406 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES EAST OF MCINTOSH...OR ABOUT 36 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF THIEF RIVER FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHWEST AT
  10 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  MCINTOSH AT 415 PM.

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

LAT...LON 4754 9580 4768 9563 4775 9583 4760 9607

$$

8/DK

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 Jun 6, 2:02 PM CDT, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 2:02 PM CDT, 2 hours 9 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
202 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONS...
SCATTERED SEVERE CONVECTION CURRENTLY ONGOING. MAIN FOCUSING
MECHANISM IS INVERTED TROUGH EXTENDING UP THE RED RIVER VALLEY.
ANOTHER AREA OF CONVECTION LOCATED ACROSS THE LAKE OF THE WOODS
REGION WHERE SFC DEWPOINTS AROUND 60 HAVE POOLED ALONG ONE OF MANY
BOUNDARIES. GOOD CONVERGENT FLOW CONTINUES OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
AS AREA REMAINS BETWEEN TWO UPPER LEVEL SYSTEMS WHICH WILL LIKELY
KEEP CONVECTION GOING LATE THIS EVENING.

.SHORT TERM(TONIGHT-MON)...
AREA WILL REMAIN UNSTABLE THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING AS INVERTED
TROUGH SLOWLY MOVES THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. TONIGHT WILL BE
SIMILAR TO LAST NIGHT WITH CONVECTION BECOMING MORE SCATTERED AFTER
SUNSET WITH SOME LINGERING PRECIP THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. AS MONTANA
UPPER LOW BEGINS TO SHIFT SOUTHEAST ON SATURDAY...ANOTHER WAVE WILL
MOVE OVER THE BOUNDARY AND WILL LIKELY SET OFF ANOTHER ROUND OF
CONVECTION. CONVECTION WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE PAST TWO DAYS WITH
MARGINALLY SEVERE STORMS POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON. SYSTEM PULLS
OUT OF THE REGION SUNDAY WITH MUCH OF THE REGION HAVING SUN BY THE
AFTERNOON. NEXT BOUNDARY MOVES THROUGH THE REGION MONDAY WHICH WILL
BRING THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDER.

.EXTENDED...
REGION TO TRANSITION FROM NW FLOW ALOFT INTO MORE ZONAL PATTERN
THROUGH EXTENDED PERIOD. OVERALL REASONABLE CONSISTENCY BETWEEN GFS
RUNS AND AGREEMENT WITH OTHER MODELS. MAIN CHALLENGE WILL BE TIMING
WITH WAVES AND THIS TO NOT TOO FAR OFF. INITIAL WAVE AND ASSOCIATED
SURFACE BOUNDARY MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY AND NEXT WAVE WED NIGHT
THURSDAY. AS WITH TIMING OF WAVES...TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO BE
CHALLENGE. WARMEST TEMPERATURES THIS PERIOD APPEAR MID WEEK PRIOR TO
STRONGER WAVE.

.FGF...NONE.

DONAVON/VOELKER
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 6, 7:05 AM CDT, 9 hours 6 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-061400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
705 AM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND
WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA FOR TODAY...

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING

ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING EAST OF A LINE FROM ROSEAU TO FERGUS FALLS MINNESOTA.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE MAINLY LARGE HAIL. THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AFTER THE NOON HOUR AND SHOULD DISSIPATE
AROUND 8 PM.

AFTERNOON HEATING AND RELATIVELY COLD AIR ALOFT WILL PRODUCE
UNSTABLE CONDITIONS AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON. LOW PRESSURE OVER NORTHWEST
MINNESOTA WILL MOVE INTO EASTERN MINNESOTA BY THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

HOPPES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 6, 10:27 AM CDT, 5 hours 44 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
1027 AM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0325 PM    ERHARD                    MN   .75 INCH HAIL
06/05/03   OTTER TAIL

TG
Local storm report, Jun 6, 1:32 PM CDT, 2 hours 39 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
132 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0115 PM    8 W REYNOLDS              ND   .75 INCH HAIL
06/06/03   TRAILL                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

0115 PM    3 S HOLMES                ND   .75 INCH HAIL
06/06/03   GRAND FORKS                    REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

TG
Local storm report, Jun 6, 1:59 PM CDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
159 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0130 PM    4 SW WANNASKA             MN   .75 INCH HAIL
06/06/03   ROSEAU                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

TG
Local storm report, Jun 6, 2:26 PM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
226 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0216 PM    7 W WALES                 ND   TORNADO
06/06/03   CAVALIER                       REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT.

TG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 5, 7:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRoseau62 min
Jun 6, 1:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRoseau38 min
Jun 6, 3:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay47 min
Jun 6, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFMarshall40 min
Jun 6, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay43 min
Jun 6, 4:51 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBecker39 min
Jun 6, 5:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRed Lake38 min
Jun 6, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman48 min
Jun 6, 5:14 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFClay4 hr

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.