Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2008

Tornado Watch 472

June 6, 200823 counties in Minnesota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 6, 2008, 10:28 AM CDT for 23 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 6, 2008, 10:28 AM CDT (15:28 UTC)
Expired
Jun 6, 2008, 3:53 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 23 counties

Aitkin County, MN, Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Carlton County, MN, Cass County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Crow Wing County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Itasca County, MN, Kittson County, MN, Koochiching County, MN, Lake of the Woods County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Norman County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Pine County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Saint Louis County, MN, Wadena County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 173 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:29 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.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

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, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 154 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 2008-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2008-06-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 442 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
456 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
442 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
514 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000
WWUS20 KWNS 061525
SEL2  
SPC WW 061525
MNZ000-062100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 472
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1030 AM CDT FRI JUN 6 2008

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       NORTHERN MINNESOTA

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1030 AM UNTIL
400 PM 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 APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
THIEF RIVER FALLS MINNESOTA TO 25 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HIBBING
MINNESOTA.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

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...ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG AND NORTH OF SURFACE WARM FRONT EXTENDING
ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MN.  THIS ACTIVITY WILL LIFT NORTHWARD INTO
FAVORABLY SHEARED BOUNDARY LAYER AND POSE A RISK OF TORNADOES. 
GUSTY/DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH STRONGEST
CELLS.

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
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21035.


...HART

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 5, 9:14 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCarver, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue and 15 more8 hr
Jun 6, 3:29 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHouston, Winona61 min
Jun 6, 10:09 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater and 18 more96 min
Jun 6, 2:17 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCKoochiching88 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 2008Every tornado watch 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.