Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 653
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 18, 2004, 6:00 PM CDT for 18 counties in Minnesota; 18 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 18, 2004, 6:00 PM CDT (23:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 19, 2004, 12:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 36 counties
Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Kittson County, MN, Koochiching County, MN, Lake of the Woods County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Norman County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Wadena County, MN, Wilkin County, MN, Barnes County, ND, Cass County, ND, Dickey County, ND, Foster County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, LaMoure County, ND, Logan County, ND, McIntosh County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Pembina County, ND, Ransom County, ND, Richland County, ND, Sargent County, ND, Steele County, ND, Stutsman County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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
14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 45 min |
| Jul 18, 7:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Polk | 38 min |
| Jul 18, 7:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Logan | 62 min |
| Jul 18, 7:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Grand Forks, Steele | 45 min |
| Jul 18, 7:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Traill | 43 min |
| Jul 18, 7:44 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | McIntosh | 46 min |
| Jul 18, 8:23 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Barnes | 52 min |
| Jul 18, 8:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | LaMoure | 46 min |
| Jul 18, 8:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McIntosh | 29 min |
| Jul 18, 8:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Cass, Steele | 44 min |
| Jul 18, 9:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Barnes, Cass | 46 min |
| Jul 18, 9:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | LaMoure | 36 min |
| Jul 18, 10:00 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FGF | Cass | 8 hr |
| Jul 18, 10:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Cass | 29 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
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 273 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
- 25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -487 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1429 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 155 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 182301
SEL3
SPC WW 182300
MNZ000-NDZ000-190500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 653
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
600 PM CDT SUN JUL 18 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT FROM 600 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT 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 115 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF WARROAD MINNESOTA
TO 70 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF FARGO NORTH DAKOTA.
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.
DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS/SUPERCELLS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE
NEXT 1-2 HRS ALONG NE/SW-ORIENTED LEE TROUGH PROGRESSING E/SE ACROSS
ERN ND. OTHER STORMS MAY FORM INVOF OLD OUTFLOW BNDRY ORIENTED
ROUGHLY NNW/SSE JUST E OF THE RED RIVER IN NW MN. WITH AVERAGE
MLCAPE AROUND 2500 J/KG AND 40-50 KT DEEP NNWLY SHEAR...SETUP SHOULD
SUPPORT LARGE HAIL/HIGH WINDS. AMPLE LOW LEVEL TURNING....HIGH
BNDRY LAYER MOISTURE CONTENT AND LIKELY DISCRETE NATURE OF
CONVECTION FURTHER SUGGEST A THREAT FOR TORNADOES.
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 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 32025.
...CORFIDI
485,0930 455,0945 455,0994 485,0980SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 5:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Kittson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington and 2 more | 2 hr |
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.