Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2008

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 243, NWS Duluth, MN

September 26, 2008Saint Louis County, Minnesota

NWS Duluth, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 26, 2008, 5:58 PM CDT for Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It was in force for 47 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 26, 2008, 5:58 PM CDT (22:58 UTC)
Expired
Sep 26, 2008, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Duluth, MN
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Saint Louis County, MN

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:01 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 26, 12:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 126 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2008-09-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 594 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 2008-09-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
594 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-295 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
967 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 26, 5:52 PM CDT, 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 26, 5:52 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...MESOSCALE UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
552 PM CDT FRI SEP 26 2008

.MESOSCALE UPDATE...CONCERNING HEAVY RAINFALL AND POTENTIAL FOR
FLASH FLOODING ACROSS CASS/ITASCA/ST LOUIS COUNTIES...

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE RAPIDLY INCREASED IN COVERAGE/INTENSITY AS
EXPECTED OVER THE PAST HOUR...WITH A FOCUS ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF
NEARLY STATIONARY COLD FROM LOCATED FROM BACKUS... TO HILL CITY...
TO COTTON IN THE AREA OF INTENSE FRONTOGENESIS MESOSCALE FORCING FOR
ASCENT JUST ON THE COOL SIDE OF THE BOUNDARY IN THE SURFACE-4000 FT
AGL LAYER.

WITH THE LOW LEVEL JET POINTED RIGHT INTO THIS AREA..INTENSE LOW
LEVEL FGEN WILL PERSIST FOR AT LEAST 2-3 MORE HOURS UNTIL CONVECTIVE
COLD POOL EVENTUALLY FORCES DEVELOPMENT OF NEW UPDRAFTS FARTHER
SOUTH AND EAST.

THROUGH 8 PM... PERIODS OF INTENSE RAINFALL RATES OF 1-2 INCHES PER
HOUR WILL PERSIST..AND THE FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL IS RAPIDLY
INCREASING IN THE CORRIDOR FROM PINE RIVER TO WALKER..EAST TO GRAND
RAPIDS... AND HIGHWAY 53 BETWEEN VIRGINIA AND DULUTH. WE JUST
UPDATED TO ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THIS AREA.
 MILLER

&&

.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.
LS...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 26, 3:40 PM CDT, 2 hours 18 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
340 PM CDT FRI SEP 26 2008

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-271030-
KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-
NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE-
SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-SOUTHERN ITASCA-
SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN AITKIN-
CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-ASHLAND-IRON-
BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE-
340 PM CDT FRI SEP 26 2008

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EVENING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY POSSIBLE LATE THIS
AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. ALTHOUGH A SEVERE STORM IS POSSIBLE
OVER MOST OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND FAR NORTHWEST
WISCONSIN...THE AREA WITH THE HIGHEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS
WILL BE FROM THE ARROWHEAD...IRON RANGE...SOUTHWEST TOWARD THE BRAINERD
LAKES AREA...AND AREAS EAST INTO FAR NORTHWEST WISCONSIN INCLUDING
THE TWIN PORTS. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND
AND HEAVY RAIN.

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PARTS OF NORTHWEST WISCONSIN
ON SATURDAY...AND OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF
MINNESOTA SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE
OVER MUCH OF THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT.

LSZ121-140>148-272045-
BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN-
GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN-
TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN-
SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN-
DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI-
SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI-
336 PM CDT FRI SEP 26 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF
WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY POSSIBLE LATE THIS
AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. ALTHOUGH A SEVERE STORM IS POSSIBLE
OVER MOST OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND FAR NORTHWEST
WISCONSIN...THE AREA WITH THE HIGHEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS
WILL BE FROM THE ARROWHEAD...IRON RANGE...SOUTHWEST TOWARD THE BRAINERD
LAKES AREA...AND AREAS EAST INTO FAR NORTHWEST WISCONSIN INCLUDING
THE TWIN PORTS. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WIND
AND HEAVY RAIN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PARTS OF THE SOUTH SHORE
ON SATURDAY...AND AGAIN OVER MUCH OF THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT INTO
MONDAY.

MELDE

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DULUTH (ALL LOWER CASE)

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 26, 5:35 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 26, 5:52 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Sep 26, 5:56 PM CDT, 2 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
556 PM CDT FRI SEP 26 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0540 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 W SILICA              47.27N 93.04W
09/26/2008                   ST. LOUIS          MN   AMATEUR RADIO

            SEVERAL DEAD TREE LIMBS DOWN OVER ROADWAY.

&&

SGOHDE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Duluth, MN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 26, 4:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHItasca, Koochiching66 min
Sep 26, 4:49 AM CDTTornado WarningDLHItasca, Koochiching56 min
Sep 26, 7:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHKoochiching, Saint Louis61 min
Sep 26, 8:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHKoochiching, Saint Louis61 min
Sep 26, 9:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHSaint Louis36 min
Sep 26, 10:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHKoochiching, Saint Louis55 min
Sep 26, 11:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHSaint Louis60 min
Sep 26, 5:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHItasca, Saint Louis53 min
Sep 26, 5:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCass, Itasca41 min
Sep 26, 5:21 PM CDTFlash Flood WatchDLHAitkin, Carlton, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Saint Louis4 hr
Sep 26, 5:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCass, Crow Wing65 min
Sep 26, 6:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCass, Itasca45 min
Sep 26, 6:36 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryDLHAitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Saint Louis2 hr
Sep 26, 6:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCook, Lake39 min
Sep 26, 6:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHAitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Itasca, Saint Louis62 min
Sep 26, 6:47 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningDLH88 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 2008Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2008

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.