Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 747
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 14, 2003, 5:35 PM CDT for Cook County, Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 14, 2003, 5:35 PM CDT (22:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 14, 2003, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Cook County, MN, Lake County, MN, Saint Louis County, MN
The radar
The Duluth radar (KDLH), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:39 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
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 5:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DLH | Koochiching, Saint Louis | 53 min |
| Jul 14, 6:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Saint Louis | 61 min |
| Jul 14, 7:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Itasca, Saint Louis | 60 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
International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 163 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
- 93 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -353 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1491 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 43 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 116 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 142232
SEL7
SPC WW 142235
MNZ000-LSZ000-150300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 747
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
535 PM CDT MON JUL 14 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST MINNESOTA
LAKE SUPERIOR
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 535 PM UNTIL 1000
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF ELY MINNESOTA TO 20
MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF DULUTH 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 744...WW 745...WW 746...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NRN MN ARE EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE MOVING/DEVELOPING EWD INTO NERN MN IN ADVANCE OF STRONG
UPPER SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVING TOWARD THE UPPER MS VALLEY.
ENVIRONMENT IS FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS WITH STRONG LOW AND DEEP
LAYER SHEAR WITHIN A MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIR MASS WITH SBCAPE TO
3000 J/KG.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28035.
...WEISS
481,0901 463,0903 465,0930 483,0924SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 9:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Douglas, Grant and 9 more | 5 hr |
| Jul 13, 11:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Becker, Clay, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail and 2 more | 58 min |
| Jul 14, 9:58 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anoka, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Chisago, Cottonwood and 32 more | 62 min |
| Jul 14, 1:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Rock | 113 min |
| Jul 14, 2:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Becker, Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson and 9 more | 65 min |
| Jul 14, 2:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson and 9 more | 5 hr |
| Jul 14, 3:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Blue Earth, Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin, Murray, Nobles and 3 more | 6 hr |
| Jul 14, 3:50 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson and 9 more | 85 min |
| Jul 14, 3:57 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aitkin, Benton, Big Stone, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant and 9 more | 2 hr |
| Jul 14, 5:05 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aitkin, Anoka, Benton, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton and 37 more | 55 min |
| Jul 14, 5:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aitkin, Anoka, Benton, Brown, Carlton, Carver and 36 more | 5 hr |
| Jul 14, 5:55 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Itasca | 2 hr |
| Jul 14, 6:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blue Earth, Brown, Jackson, Martin, Nicollet, Watonwan | 116 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 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.