Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 278

June 17, 202116 counties in Iowa; 7 counties in Minnesota; 39 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 17, 2021, 10:01 PM CDT for 16 counties in Iowa; 7 counties in Minnesota; 39 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 17, 2021, 10:01 PM CDT (03:01 UTC)
Expired
Jun 18, 2021, 4:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 62 counties

Allamakee County, IA, Bremer County, IA, Butler County, IA, Cerro Gordo County, IA, Chickasaw County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Floyd County, IA, Franklin County, IA, Hancock County, IA, Howard County, IA, Humboldt County, IA, Mitchell County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Worth County, IA, Wright County, IA, Dodge County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Houston County, MN, Mower County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Winona County, MN, Adams County, WI, Buffalo County, WI, Calumet County, WI, Clark County, WI, Columbia County, WI, Crawford County, WI, Dane County, WI, Dodge County, WI, Fond du Lac County, WI, Grant County, WI, Green County, WI, Green Lake County, WI, Iowa County, WI, Jackson County, WI, Jefferson County, WI, Juneau County, WI, Kenosha County, WI, La Crosse County, WI, Lafayette County, WI, Marquette County, WI, Milwaukee County, WI, Monroe County, WI, Outagamie County, WI, Ozaukee County, WI, Portage County, WI, Racine County, WI, Richland County, WI, Rock County, WI, Sauk County, WI, Sheboygan County, WI, Trempealeau County, WI, Vernon County, WI, Walworth County, WI, Washington County, WI, Waukesha County, WI, Waupaca County, WI, Waushara County, WI, Winnebago County, WI, Wood County, WI

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 13 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:02 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
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
90%

Warnings issued inside it

5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 10:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXWabasha, Winona53 min
Jun 17, 10:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXHouston, Winona44 min
Jun 17, 11:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXHouston25 min
Jun 17, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXAdams, Juneau34 min
Jun 18, 12:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXColumbia, Marquette, Sauk37 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 219 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2021-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 61 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 2021-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -13 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
61 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-387 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1555 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-13 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

533 
WWUS20 KWNS 180259
SEL8  
SPC WW 180259
IAZ000-MNZ000-WIZ000-180900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 278
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1000 PM CDT Thu Jun 17 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  North-central/Northeast Iowa
  Southeast Minnesota
  Central/Southern Wisconsin

* Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 1000 PM
  until 400 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...Organized clusters of storms are expected to accelerate
east-southeastward across central/southern Wisconsin, while
additional storms develop across southeast Minnesota and northern
Iowa late this evening into the overnight. Damaging winds and severe
hail can be expected through at least the early/middle part of the
overnight.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
statute miles north and south of a line from 35 miles north
northwest of Mason City IA to 35 miles north of Milwaukee WI. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 276...WW 277...

AVIATION...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 600. Mean storm motion vector
29040.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 7:02 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Howard, Mitchell, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Worth88 min
Jun 17, 9:01 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Howard, Mitchell, Winneshiek89 min
Jun 17, 10:52 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Howard, Winneshiek83 min
Jun 18, 1:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee116 min
Jun 17, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBlue Earth, Brown, Dakota, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue and 9 more4 hr
Jun 18, 5:03 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBecker, Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing and 9 more87 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Wisconsin, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Iowa, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Minnesota, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.