Alert archive / Minnesota / Special Weather Statements in 2026

Special Weather Statement, NWS Twin Cities, MN

July 20, 20264 counties in Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this special weather statement at Jul 20, 2026, 5:44 AM CDT for 4 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 46 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 20, 2026, 5:44 AM CDT (10:44 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2026, 6:30 AM CDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Hail: 0.25 in
Wind: 50

Counties Le Sueur County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN, Sibley County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:44 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

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 36 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -165 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1421 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

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What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this special weather statement went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this special weather statement went out at Jul 20, 4:00 AM CDT, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 4:00 AM CDT, 1 hour 44 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 20, 4:08 AM CDT, 1 hour 36 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 20, 1:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
130 AM CDT Mon Jul 20 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0125 AM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 NE Appleton           45.22N 96.00W
07/20/2026  M56 MPH          Swift              MN   AWOS

            AWOS station KAQP Appleton AP.

&&

NDC

Special weather statement, Jul 20, 2:15 AM CDT, 3 hours 29 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
215 AM CDT Mon Jul 20 2026

MNZ056>058-064-065-073-200745-
Meeker MN-Yellow Medicine MN-Renville MN-Chippewa MN-Kandiyohi MN-
Redwood MN-
215 AM CDT Mon Jul 20 2026

...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT SOUTHERN KANDIYOHI...
SOUTHWESTERN MEEKER...EAST CENTRAL CHIPPEWA...NORTHEASTERN REDWOOD...
RENVILLE AND EAST CENTRAL YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTIES UNTIL 245 AM
CDT...

At 215 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a line of strong
thunderstorms extending from over Willmar to 5 miles southeast of
Sacred Heart, or extending from over Willmar to 15 miles northwest of
Redwood Falls, moving east at 45 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and penny size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
  Pennock, Raymond, Sacred Heart, Prinsburg, Willmar, Renville, Svea,
  Danube, Kandiyohi, Blomkest, Delhi, Olivia, Lake Lillian, Redwood
  Falls, Atwater, Bird Island, Thorpe, Morton, Cosmos and Franklin.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening
weather conditions.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms and may lead
to flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

&&

LAT...LON 4467 9549 4494 9535 4515 9527 4515 9525
      4522 9525 4524 9524 4508 9457 4477 9474
      4449 9492
TIME...MOT...LOC 0715Z 290DEG 37KT 4512 9509 4490 9522 4471 9531

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

NDC

Special weather statement, Jul 20, 2:45 AM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
245 AM CDT Mon Jul 20 2026

MNZ041-047-048-200815-
Stevens MN-Pope MN-Douglas MN-
245 AM CDT Mon Jul 20 2026

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT STEVENS...SOUTHWESTERN DOUGLAS
AND NORTHWESTERN POPE COUNTIES UNTIL 315 AM CDT...

At 245 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 16
miles northwest of Chokio, or 25 miles northwest of Morris, moving
east at 40 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and half inch size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
  Morris, Kensington, Donnelly, Fish Lake, Alberta and Morris
  Airport.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening
weather conditions.

&&

LAT...LON 4560 9576 4548 9582 4561 9625 4576 9625
      4576 9576 4583 9576 4581 9565
TIME...MOT...LOC 0745Z 286DEG 33KT 4577 9634

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

NDC

Special weather statement, Jul 20, 3:14 AM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 20, 3:56 AM CDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 20, 5:44 AM CDT, 0 minutes before

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The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 1:17 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Swift	28 min
Jul 20, 1:27 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Swift	48 min
Jul 20, 2:15 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Kandiyohi, Renville	30 min
Jul 20, 2:45 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Stevens	30 min
Jul 20, 3:14 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Carver, McLeod	31 min
Jul 20, 3:56 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Kandiyohi	34 min
Jul 20, 6:39 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Steele, Waseca	36 min
Jul 20, 7:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Freeborn, Steele, Waseca	45 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in Minnesota, 2026 Every special weather statement in 2026

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.