Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2004
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 721
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 8, 2004, 4:35 PM CDT for 23 counties in Minnesota; 5 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 8, 2004, 4:35 PM CDT (21:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 8, 2004, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 28 counties
Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Cass County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Crow Wing County, MN, Douglas County, MN, Grant County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Kittson County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Mille Lacs County, MN, Morrison County, MN, Norman County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Todd County, MN, Wadena County, MN, Wilkin County, MN, Cavalier County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Pembina County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:35 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
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 4:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Beltrami, Clearwater, Pennington, Polk | 42 min |
| Aug 8, 4:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Kittson | 32 min |
| Aug 8, 4:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Mahnomen | 16 min |
| Aug 8, 5:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Walsh | 52 min |
| Aug 8, 5:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Kittson | 46 min |
| Aug 8, 5:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Beltrami | 58 min |
| Aug 8, 6:08 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FGF | Kittson | 12 hr |
| Aug 8, 6:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Kittson | 61 min |
| Aug 8, 6:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Beltrami | 38 min |
| Aug 8, 6:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Red Lake | 50 min |
| Aug 8, 7:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Kittson, Roseau | 62 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, 9.6 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 487 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 18 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 7 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 43 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 082137
SEL1
SPC WW 082135
MNZ000-NDZ000-090300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 721
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
435 PM CDT SUN AUG 8 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA
FAR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 435 PM UNTIL 1000
PM CDT.
HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES NORTH OF GRAND FORKS NORTH
DAKOTA TO 25 MILES EAST OF ALEXANDRIA MINNESOTA.
REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 719. WATCH NUMBER 719 WILL NOT BE
IN EFFECT AFTER 435 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 720...
DISCUSSION...COMPACT UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO SHIFT EWD ACROSS NERN ND
LATE THIS AFTERNOON. CLEARING SKIES HAVE ALLOWED AN AXIS OF
MODERATE SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY TO DEVELOP INTO CENTRAL AND NWRN
MN. THIS SUGGESTS SEVERAL SMALL LINES OR SUPERCELLS WILL CONTINUE
SHIFTING EWD ACROSS WW FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS WITH PRIMARY THREATS
OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.
AVIATION...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 450. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 25020.
...EVANS
490,0953 455,0932 455,0961 490,0984SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 12:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anoka, Blue Earth, Carver, Dakota, Dodge, Faribault and 19 more | 58 min |
| Aug 8, 12:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Kittson, Mahnomen and 8 more | 83 min |
| Aug 8, 12:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Becker, Clay, Kittson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman and 5 more | 5 hr |
| Aug 8, 4:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Hubbard and 11 more | 88 min |
| Aug 8, 5:03 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anoka, Benton, Blue Earth, Carver, Chisago, Dakota and 31 more | 117 min |
| Aug 8, 5:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Anoka, Benton, Brown, Carver, Chisago, Dakota and 21 more | 7 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Minnesota, 2004Severe Thunderstorm Watches in North Dakota, 2004Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2004
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.