Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 6, 2003Otter Tail County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 6, 2003, 7:22 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 38 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 6, 2003, 7:22 PM CDT (00:22 UTC)
Expired
Jul 6, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
38 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), 198 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:22 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
Jul 6, 2:20 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 216 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 00:00Z on 2003-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2301 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 00:00Z on 2003-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 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
2301 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

495 
WFUS53 KFGF 070022
TORFGF
MNC111-070100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
721 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  SOUTHERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT.

* AT 717 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  CLITHERALL...OR ABOUT 18 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FERGUS FALLS...MOVEMENT
  WAS TO THE EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...

  CLITHERALL AT 730 PM...
  URBANK AT 745 PM AND
  PARKERS PRAIRIE AT 800 PM.

FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTS 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DALTON.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO
ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4625 9585 4611 9583 4612 9517 4632 9519

$$

08/84

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 6, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFHubbard, Wadena44 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.