Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 190
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 11, 2004, 7:00 PM CDT for 10 counties in Minnesota; 7 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 11, 2004, 7:00 PM CDT (00:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 12, 2004, 1:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Norman County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Barnes County, ND, Cass County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, Ransom County, ND, Steele County, ND, Traill County, ND
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:03 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
29 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 7:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Marshall, Pennington | 51 min |
| May 11, 7:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Becker, Otter Tail | 46 min |
| May 11, 7:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Clay, Wilkin | 44 min |
| May 11, 7:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Red Lake | 28 min |
| May 11, 7:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs | 46 min |
| May 11, 7:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Becker, Otter Tail | 46 min |
| May 11, 8:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Marshall, Pennington | 60 min |
| May 11, 8:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Red Lake | 58 min |
| May 11, 8:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Barnes | 47 min |
| May 11, 8:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Polk | 31 min |
| May 11, 8:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clay, Wilkin | 44 min |
| May 11, 8:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 56 min |
| May 11, 8:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs | 58 min |
| May 11, 8:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Becker, Otter Tail | 45 min |
| May 11, 8:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake | 62 min |
| May 11, 9:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Traill | 41 min |
| May 11, 9:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 45 min |
| May 11, 9:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Polk | 50 min |
| May 11, 9:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Becker, Hubbard | 46 min |
| May 11, 9:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Steele | 45 min |
| May 11, 9:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Norman | 52 min |
| May 11, 9:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Barnes, Ransom, Sargent | 35 min |
| May 11, 9:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Traill | 61 min |
| May 11, 9:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 48 min |
| May 11, 10:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Traill | 44 min |
| May 11, 10:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cass | 37 min |
| May 11, 10:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Polk | 51 min |
| May 11, 10:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Traill | 61 min |
| May 11, 11:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Norman | 40 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
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 0.0 hours before the alert went out and 292 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
- 10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 500 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 67 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 198 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 207 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 112359
SEL0
SPC WW 120000
MNZ000-NDZ000-120600-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 190
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
700 PM CDT TUE MAY 11 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 700 PM
UNTIL 100 AM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 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 NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES WEST OF FARGO NORTH DAKOTA TO 10
MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF BEMIDJI 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 185...WW 186...WW 187...WW
188...WW 189...
DISCUSSION...VERY STRONG BOUNDARY EXTENDS EAST-WEST ACROSS SERN ND
INTO W CENTRAL MN WITH A VERY STRONG THERMAL GRADIENT. VERY STRONG
LOW LEVEL JET EXTENDS NWD INTO THIS AREA COUPLED WITH WLY MID LEVEL
FLOW HAS CREATED FAVORABLE SHEAR. AIR MASS SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY IS
VERY UNSTABLE WITH CAPE TO 2500 J/KG...AND BRN SHEAR IS ABOVE 100
M2/S2 RIGHT OVER THE BOUNDARY SUPPORTING SUPERCELL STORMS.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.
...MCCARTHY
474,0982 482,0944 464,0944 460,0982SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 7:22 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen | 113 min |
| May 11, 8:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Becker, Beltrami, Big Stone, Cass, Clay, Clearwater and 15 more | 5 hr |
| May 11, 10:08 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Big Stone, Grant, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Otter Tail and 6 more | 2 hr |
| May 12, 11:29 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston and 6 more | 2 hr |
| May 12, 12:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower and 4 more | 6 hr |
| May 12, 2:22 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chisago, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue and 9 more | 83 min |
| May 12, 3:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston and 7 more | 83 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 2004Tornado Watches in North Dakota, 2004Every tornado 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.