Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 699
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 9, 2003, 2:30 PM CDT for 21 counties in Minnesota; Pierce County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 9, 2003, 2:30 PM CDT (19:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 9, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 22 counties
Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Carver County, MN, Dakota County, MN, Dodge County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, McLeod County, MN, Mower County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN, Sibley County, MN, Steele County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Watonwan County, MN, Pierce County, WI
The radar
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:31 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.
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 4:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Brown, Nicollet | 30 min |
| Jul 9, 4:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Brown, Nicollet | 25 min |
| Jul 9, 4:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Brown, Nicollet | 36 min |
| Jul 9, 5:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet | 53 min |
| Jul 9, 5:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Blue Earth | 51 min |
| Jul 9, 6:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | McLeod, Sibley | 51 min |
| Jul 9, 7:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Blue Earth, Faribault | 27 min |
| Jul 9, 7:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Faribault, Freeborn | 63 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 56 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1344 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 15 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 39 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 105 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 091932
SEL9
SPC WW 091930
MNZ000-100100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 699
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 230 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF FAIRMONT
MINNESOTA TO 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROCHESTER MINNESOTA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 695...WW 696...WW 697...WW
698...
DISCUSSION...SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS MOVING IN FROM THE WEST WITH
INSTABILITY INCREASING AS CLOUDS CLEAR FROM THE SOUTHWEST. SHEAR IS
FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WOULD BE POSSIBLE
WITH ADDITIONAL HEATING/INSTABILITY.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.
...IMY
445,0944 444,0920 433,0920 433,0944
WWUS20 KWNS 091932
SEL9
SPC WW 091930
MNZ000-100100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 699
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 PM CDT WED JUL 9 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 230 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF FAIRMONT
MINNESOTA TO 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROCHESTER MINNESOTA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 695...WW 696...WW 697...WW
698...
DISCUSSION...SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS MOVING IN FROM THE WEST WITH
INSTABILITY INCREASING AS CLOUDS CLEAR FROM THE SOUTHWEST. SHEAR IS
FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WOULD BE POSSIBLE
WITH ADDITIONAL HEATING/INSTABILITY.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.
...IMY
445,0944 444,0920 433,0920 433,0944SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 1:08 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Martin, Mower and 2 more | 67 min |
| Jul 9, 5:38 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Freeborn, Martin, Nicollet and 4 more | 97 min |
| Jul 9, 3:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, Sauk | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 2003Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 2003Every tornado watch 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.