Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 22, 2003Otter Tail County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 22, 2003, 5:31 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 29 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
May 22, 2003, 5:31 PM CDT (22:31 UTC)
Expired
May 22, 2003, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Otter Tail County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 204 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:31 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, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 202 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 2003-05-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2003-05-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 155 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1702 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
155 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
170 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 
WUUS53 KFGF 222231
SVRFGF
MNC111-222300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
531 PM CDT THU MAY 22 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  SOUTHEASTERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT.

* AT 528 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER PARKERS PRAIRIE...OR ABOUT 35 MILES EAST
  OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTH AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN IN RURAL AREAS OF

  SOUTHEASTERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY.

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

LAT...LON 4626 9524 4623 9550 4612 9554 4614 9518

$$

04

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 May 22, 2:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 2:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
250 PM CDT THU MAY 22 2003

...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE CONCERNS POP CHANCES WITH INTERACTION OF
   NEXT SURFACE TROUGH LATE FRIDAY/SATURDAY...

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW...
19Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED SURFACE TROUGH AXIS FROM WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO EXTREME SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. MUCH WEAKER BOUNDARY
WAS SITUATED FROM SOUTHEAST SASK PROVINCE TO NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA.
LATEST WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATED SHORTWAVE ENERGY DROPPING
INTO NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA WHILE FAVORABLE LFQ OF 250MB JET
MAX WAS PUNCHING INTO WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. INSTABILITY/850MB
MOISTURE POOLING WAS OCCURRING AHEAD OF TROUGH FROM EXTREME
SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

.FORECAST DETAILS TONIGHT-SUNDAY...
BRIEF RIDGING FROM ONTARIO PROVINCE HIGH SHOULD BUILD IN TONIGHT
BEFORE SURFACE FLOW VEERS MORE SOUTHEAST LATE IN RESPONSE TO
UPSTREAM PRESSURE FALLS WITH NEXT TROUGH OVER SASK PROVINCE.
TROUGH SHOULD SHIFT EAST INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS FRIDAY ALBEIT
SLOW. STRONG LOW-LEVEL RIDGING ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY
SHOULD HOLD ITS STANCE AND FURTHER IMPEDE EASTWARD PUSH OF TROUGH
WITH REMNANTS OF FEATURE IN AN ILL DEFINED FASHION STILL LINGERING
OVER THE EASTERN DAKOTAS LATE SATURDAY. INSTABILITY PARAMETERS
SURFACE BASED/ELEVATED WEAK OR NIL WITH MAIN BRUNT OF MOISTURE
INFLUX AOA 850MB. WILL CONTINUE WITH SHOWER THREAT LATE FRIDAY INTO
SATURDAY AS CONVERGENCE AHEAD OF FRONT PROMOTES ENOUGH LARGE SCALE
ASCENT. HIGH CONDENSATION PRESSURE DEFICITS IN THE LOW LAYERS
SUGGEST INITIAL LIFT MAY BE WASTED SATURATING COLUMN. TROUGH WASHES
OUT SATURDAY NIGHT AS RIDING FROM ONTARIO HIGH ONCE AGAIN BECOME
ESTABLISHED OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS. TRAJECTORY AROUND HIGH SHOULD
HELP TO ENTRAIN DRIER INFLUX OF AIR INTO REGION SUNDAY WITH BETTER
INSOLATION POTENTIAL.

.EXTENDED...
ENSEMBLE SOLUTIONS IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT THROUGH MONDAY WITH
DIFFERENCES BEGINNING IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC. ENSEMBLE SET BECOMES
QUITE NOISY THROUGH THURSDAY. MANY OF THE MEMBERS BUILD A RIDGE IN
WESTERN CANADA ON WEDNESDAY WITH A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH OVER THE
NORTHERN PLAINS. UPPER TROUGH CONTINUES TO AMPLIFY ACROSS THE GREAT
LAKES REGION ON THURSDAY HOWEVER MANY OTHER SOLUTIONS WERE ZONAL
ACROSS CENTRAL CANADA. ENSEMBLE MEAN HAS CHANGED LITTLE BETWEEN 12Z
GFS AND OOZ GFS ON DAY 7 HOWEVER THE OPERATIONAL 00Z GFS RUN WAS
MUCH COOLER THAN THE 12Z OPERATIONAL GFS. WILL GO WITH THE ENSEMBLE
MEAN AND ADD A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.

FGF...NONE

BERG/HOPPES
Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 6:40 AM CDT, 10 hours 51 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>030-
038-039-049-052>054-221400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
640 AM CDT THU MAY 22 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.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
May 22, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFHubbard48 min
May 22, 6:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWadena40 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.