Alert archive / Minnesota / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 1765

September 17, 20216 counties in Iowa; 24 counties in Minnesota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Sep 17, 2021, 12:53 AM CDT for 6 counties in Iowa; 24 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 67 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 17, 2021, 12:53 AM CDT (05:53 UTC)
Expired
Sep 17, 2021, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Severe potential...watch possible
Chance of a watch
40%
All 30 counties

Clay County, IA, Dickinson County, IA, Emmet County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Osceola County, IA, Sioux County, IA, Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Carver County, MN, Cottonwood County, MN, Dakota County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Hennepin County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, McLeod County, MN, Murray County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Nobles County, MN, Ramsey County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Renville County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN, Sibley County, MN, Steele County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Watonwan County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:54 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 nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 328 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 2021-09-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 2021-09-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -170 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1789 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-170 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

508 
ACUS11 KWNS 170553
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 170553 
MNZ000-IAZ000-170700-

Mesoscale Discussion 1765
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1253 AM CDT Fri Sep 17 2021

Areas affected...southern MN...northwest IA

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch possible 

Valid 170553Z - 170700Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...40 percent

SUMMARY...Strong to locally severe gusts are possible as a squall
line moves east across southern MN.

DISCUSSION...Latest surface mesoanalysis places a pre-frontal
boundary oriented from southwest MN northeastward into parts of
central MN ahead of a squall line advancing east.  The surface wind
shift will probably continue to serve as a focus area for the
northern periphery of stronger outflow winds.  South of the
boundary, surface temperatures are warmer with low-mid 70s observed.
The Sioux Falls, SD 88D VAD showed a strong southwesterly LLJ this
evening (50+ kt) beneath a weakness in flow evident in the hodograph
in the 3-6 km AGL layer, surmounted by stronger flow above (50-65 kt
in the 6-9 km layer).  This wind profile undoubtedly favors a squall
line mode.  It appears the orientation of the squall line is at
least marginally favorable with respect to the mean flow in the 1-6
km layer.  So despite appreciable convective inhibition from a
slow-to-cool boundary layer, the strength of the wind field may
continue to enable localized severe gusts with the squall line.  A
plethora of surface observations during the past hour seem support
this notion (e.g., KFSD, KPQN, KBKX) with gusts ranging mainly in
the 40-45 kt range.

..Smith/Guyer.. 09/17/2021

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...ARX...MPX...DMX...FSD...

LAT...LON   45259369 44569570 43659589 42819651 43079496 43499342
            44169286 45029294 45259369

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 8:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnoka, Benton, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton, Carver and 22 more2 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Minnesota, 2021Mesoscale Discussions in Iowa, 2021Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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.