Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 887
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 25, 2003, 8:05 PM CDT for Itasca County, Koochiching County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 25, 2003, 8:05 PM CDT (01:05 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 26, 2003, 2:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Itasca County, MN, Koochiching County, MN, Saint Louis County, MN
The radar
The Duluth radar (KDLH), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:06 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
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 9:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Itasca, Koochiching | 61 min |
| Aug 25, 10:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Itasca | 30 min |
| Aug 25, 10:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Itasca, Saint Louis | 57 min |
| Aug 25, 11:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Carlton, Saint Louis | 52 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 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 98 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
- 1016 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1579 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 110 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 171 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 7.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 260104
SEL7
SPC WW 260105
MNZ000-260700-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 887
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
805 PM CDT MON AUG 25 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN MINNESOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 805 PM UNTIL
200 AM 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 EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF INTERNATIONAL FALLS
MINNESOTA TO 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HIBBING 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 885...WW 886...
DISCUSSION...CLUSTER OF STRONG STORMS OVER NORTHERN MN IS FORECAST
TO MAINTAIN INTENSITY AND TRACK EAST-SOUTHEASTWARD FOR THE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS. BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS AND STRONG WESTERLY MID LEVEL
FLOW CONTINUE TO SUGGEST A RISK OF SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES. POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL MN IS
ALSO BEING MONITORED.
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 29035.
...HART
483,0914 470,0920 470,0943 483,0941SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 7:04 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beltrami, Clearwater, Itasca, Kittson, Koochiching, Marshall and 4 more | 56 min |
| Aug 25, 7:38 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fillmore, Houston, Mower | 67 min |
| Aug 25, 10:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Itasca, Lake, Saint Louis | 58 min |
| Aug 25, 11:10 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Aitkin, Carlton, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine | 6 hr |
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.