Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 463

August 26, 202117 counties in Minnesota; 13 counties in South Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 26, 2021, 9:05 AM CDT for 17 counties in Minnesota; 13 counties in South Dakota. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 26, 2021, 9:05 AM CDT (14:05 UTC)
Expired
Aug 26, 2021, 12:57 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 30 counties

Big Stone County, MN, Chippewa County, MN, Kandiyohi County, MN, Lac qui Parle County, MN, Lincoln County, MN, Lyon County, MN, Meeker County, MN, Murray County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Pope County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Renville County, MN, Stearns County, MN, Stevens County, MN, Swift County, MN, Traverse County, MN, Yellow Medicine County, MN, Beadle County, SD, Brookings County, SD, Clark County, SD, Codington County, SD, Deuel County, SD, Grant County, SD, Hamlin County, SD, Kingsbury County, SD, Lake County, SD, Miner County, SD, Moody County, SD, Roberts County, SD, Sanborn County, SD

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 181 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:06 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
5%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
50%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 26, 9:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRBig Stone, Traverse46 min
Aug 26, 9:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatFSDBeadle, Kingsbury57 min
Aug 26, 9:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRClark, Hamlin, Spink38 min
Aug 26, 9:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRClark, Codington, Hamlin49 min
Aug 26, 9:57 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRBig Stone, Traverse33 min
Aug 26, 9:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDeuel, Hamlin62 min
Aug 26, 10:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCodington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin60 min
Aug 26, 10:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDBrookings, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner, Moody59 min
Aug 26, 10:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatFSDLincoln, Lyon66 min
Aug 26, 10:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXLac qui Parle, Yellow Medicine51 min
Aug 26, 11:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXChippewa, Swift40 min
Aug 26, 11:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatMPXChippewa, Kandiyohi, Swift23 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 12:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 179 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 12:00Z on 2021-08-26Temperature 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2021-08-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 65 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
1566 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
146 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

307 
WWUS20 KWNS 261402
SEL3  
SPC WW 261402
MNZ000-SDZ000-262000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 463
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
905 AM CDT Thu Aug 26 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  southwest Minnesota
  eastern South Dakota

* Effective this Thursday morning and afternoon from 905 AM until
  300 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 75
    mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Line of storms may remain capable of producing damaging
wind as it continues through eastern South Dakota and southwestern
Minnesota this morning into the early afternoon.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
statute miles east and west of a line from 5 miles east northeast of
Alexandria MN to 40 miles southwest of Brookings SD. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).

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.

&&

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 65 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
30035.

...Dial

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 26, 8:36 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBig Stone, Lac qui Parle84 min
Aug 26, 10:43 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood and 1 more92 min
Aug 26, 1:12 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCFillmore, Houston, Winona93 min
Aug 26, 1:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarver, Dakota, Goodhue, Hennepin, Le Sueur, Ramsey and 3 more97 min
Aug 26, 2:35 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Campbell, Corson, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk and 6 more2 hr
Aug 26, 3:10 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBon Homme, Charles Mix, Clay, Hutchinson, Turner, Yankton3 hr
Aug 26, 5:34 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Lincoln, Turner, Union, Yankton116 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Minnesota, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in South Dakota, 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.