Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 460

August 24, 202140 counties in Minnesota; Pierce County, Polk County, Saint Croix County, Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 24, 2021, 2:17 AM CDT for 40 counties in Minnesota; Pierce County, Polk County, Saint Croix County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 24, 2021, 2:17 AM CDT (07:17 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 2021, 9:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 43 counties

Anoka County, MN, Benton County, MN, Big Stone County, MN, Brown County, MN, Carver County, MN, Chippewa County, MN, Chisago County, MN, Dakota County, MN, Douglas County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Grant County, MN, Hennepin County, MN, Isanti County, MN, Kanabec County, MN, Kandiyohi County, MN, Lac qui Parle County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, McLeod County, MN, Meeker County, MN, Mille Lacs County, MN, Morrison County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Pope County, MN, Ramsey County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Renville County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN, Sherburne County, MN, Sibley County, MN, Stearns County, MN, Stevens County, MN, Swift County, MN, Todd County, MN, Traverse County, MN, Washington County, MN, Wilkin County, MN, Wright County, MN, Yellow Medicine County, MN, Pierce County, WI, Polk County, WI, Saint Croix County, WI

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:16 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
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 2:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver, Le Sueur, Scott, Sibley35 min
Aug 24, 3:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDakota, Scott32 min
Aug 24, 3:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDouglas, Pope, Stevens, Swift43 min
Aug 24, 3:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDakota, Rice42 min
Aug 24, 3:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXChippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift, Yellow Medicine38 min
Aug 24, 4:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXKandiyohi, Pope, Stearns, Stevens, Swift52 min
Aug 24, 4:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatMPXKandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Stearns46 min
Aug 24, 4:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXChippewa, Kandiyohi, Renville42 min
Aug 24, 5:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXKandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Renville, Wright33 min
Aug 24, 5:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMeeker, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright46 min
Aug 24, 5:57 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXAnoka, Hennepin, Sherburne, Wright33 min
Aug 24, 5:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver, McLeod, Renville, Sibley31 min
Aug 24, 6:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXAnoka, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Washington35 min
Aug 24, 8:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMcLeod, Sibley21 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, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 121 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 2021-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 501 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 2021-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
501 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-147 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1780 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

514 
WWUS20 KWNS 240715
SEL0  
SPC WW 240715
MNZ000-WIZ000-241400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 460
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
215 AM CDT Tue Aug 24 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Central Minnesota
  Extreme west central Wisconsin

* Effective this Tuesday morning from 215 AM until 900 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible

SUMMARY...An organized storm cluster will likely persist and move
east-southeastward across central Minnesota through the early
morning hours.  The storm environment and the organized linear
structure to the storms suggests that occasional damaging winds of
60-70 mph will be possible, and the strongest embedded storms may
also produce isolated large hail near 1 inch diameter.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 50
statute miles north and south of a line from 15 miles north
northwest of Ortonville MN to 50 miles east northeast of Minneapolis
MN. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch
outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

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 459...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few
cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 550. Mean storm motion vector
28030.

...Thompson

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 1:10 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnoka, Benton, Carver, Chippewa, Dakota, Douglas and 26 more95 min
Aug 24, 3:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnoka, Benton, Big Stone, Brown, Carver, Chippewa and 35 more2 hr
Aug 24, 5:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Kandiyohi, McLeod and 8 more90 min
Aug 24, 6:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower and 5 more90 min
Aug 24, 7:10 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlue Earth, Chisago, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn and 13 more95 min
Aug 24, 12:44 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHouston91 min
Aug 24, 9:13 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Calumet, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano and 3 more62 min
Aug 24, 1:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCGrant5 hr
Aug 24, 3:09 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGreen, Rock, Walworth66 min
Aug 24, 3:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCGreen, Lafayette, Rock, Walworth5 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Minnesota, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Wisconsin, 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.