An area of showers with embedded thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of July 19th across southeast Minnesota. A funnel cloud was sighted with one of the showers near Rochester (Olmsted County).
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The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
An area of showers with embedded thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of July 19th across southeast Minnesota. A funnel cloud was sighted with one of the showers near Rochester (Olmsted County).
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 19, 2:17 PM CST, 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 317 PM CDT MON JUL 19 2010 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT MAIN FOCUS OVER THE SHORT TERM PERIOD IS ON THE CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. A MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROF CURRENTLY IN WESTERN MINNESOTA AND IOWA WILL CONTINUE TO PROPAGATE EASTWARD THROUGH THE REGION TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THIS TROF AND WILL LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST THE EVENING HOURS. SOME SBCAPE HAS BEEN DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON TO THE TUNE OF A FEW HUNDRED J/KG...BUT IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY WANE THIS EVENING AS TEMPERATURES AND DEW POINTS START TO DROP. THE 19.12Z NAM APPEARS TO BE SLOW WITH THE TIMING/POSITIONING OF THIS MID LEVEL TROF...WHEREAS THE 19.12Z GFS AND GEM ARE MUCH BETTER WITH THE POSITION. THE LATTER TWO MODELS CLEAR THINGS OUT RATHER QUICK LATER THIS EVENING AND WOULD SUGGEST LITTLE TO NO CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION. HAVE LEFT A SMALL CHANCE IN AFTER 6Z GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTIES WITH THE LOW LEVEL JET POSITIONING...WHICH SHOULD BE FOCUSED FURTHER SOUTHEAST. IF SKIES MANAGE TO CLEAR OUT FOR A LONG ENOUGH PERIOD TONIGHT AND SOME RAIN DOES FALL TO THE GROUND...SOME FOG WILL BE POSSIBLE AS WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AT THE SURFACE ON UP THROUGH ABOUT 800MB OVERNIGHT. THE TREND OF THE PAST FEW DAYS WITH BRINGING THE FOCUS OF THE MCS TRACKS FURTHER SOUTH STILL LOOKS GOOD WITH THE 19.12Z MODEL RUNS WITH THE SURFACE FRONT CURRENTLY PUSHED DOWN TO ST. LOUIS DUE TO THIS MORNINGS MCS. WITH MAINLY ZONAL FLOW ALOFT OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...ANY MCS/S THAT DO DEVELOP SHOULD REMAIN WELL TO THE SOUTH WITH JUST SOME HIGH CLOUDS VENTING NORTH OUT OF THE STORMS INTO OUR AREA. THE 19.12Z GUIDANCE STILL WANTS TO BRING ANOTHER MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY TUESDAY MORNING WHICH COULD SPARK OFF A FEW MORE RAIN SHOWERS AND PERHAPS A THUNDERSTORM AS IT TRACKS THROUGH. AFTER THIS FEATURE MOVES THROUGH ON TUESDAY...CONDITIONS SHOULD BE DRY ON INTO WEDNESDAY WITH A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVING IN AT THE SURFACE. WITH STRONGER SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW ON WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT...THE STALLED OUT FRONT TO THE SOUTH IS EXPECTED TO PUSH NORTHWARD AND PUT US BACK INTO THE THREAT AREA FOR CONVECTION ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. OVERALL...TEMPERATURES WILL MAINLY DEPEND ON CLOUD COVERAGE AS THE AIR MASS IS GENERALLY THE SAME OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH THE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT AND FRONT STALLED OUT TO THE SOUTH. THEREFORE...WENT A BIT WARMER OVER THE PERIODS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO BE A BIT MORE CLOUD FREE DURING THE DAY. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT ZONAL MID TO UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL REMAIN IN PLACE LATE IN THE WEEK ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTHERN US. A DIGGING MID LEVEL TROF WILL BE DROPPING DOWN FROM ALBERTA TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY WITH A BUILDING RIDGE FILLING IN BEHIND THIS FEATURE. BEFORE THIS TROF ENTERS THE REGION...THE CORE OF A MID LEVEL RIDGE JUST NORTH OF THE GULF OF MEXICO WILL SHIFT EASTWARD WHICH WILL BRING THE FLOW ALOFT MORE OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST. AT THE LOWER LEVELS...THIS SHIFT WILL ALLOW WARMER AIR TO ADVECT NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE REGION AND HELP PUSH THE STATIONARY FRONT BACK TO THE NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. THIS SHIFT TO THE NORTH WILL PUT THE FORECAST AREA BACK INTO THE THREAT OF HAVING SOME CONVECTIVE SYSTEMS ROLLING THROUGH THE REGION FROM THURSDAY INTO SATURDAY MORNING. THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO COME TO AN END FROM WEST TO EAST EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AS A COLD FRONT COMES THROUGH THE REGION AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGING STARTS TO BUILD IN. THE 19.12Z GFS STILL APPEARS TO BE FASTER THAN THE PAST FEW RUNS OF THE ECMWF WITH HAVING THE FRONT TRACK THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON RATHER THAN THE ECMWF IDEA OF EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. HAVE CONTINUED TO FOLLOW THE SLOWER TREND OF THE 19.00Z AND 18.12Z ECMWF PER HPC/S GUIDANCE. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN FILL IN ACROSS MUCH OF THE UPPER MIDWEST AND PERSIST THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION... A FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL LIE WEST-EAST ACROSS IA/ILL...PROVIDING THE MAIN FOCUS FOR SHRA/TS DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER...AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL SPIN ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING...AND WILL SPARK SOME SHRA AND ISOLATED STORMS. THIS ACTIVITY IS PRETTY SPOTTY PER LATEST 88-D RADAR IMAGERY...THANKS IN PART TO DEBRIS CLOUDS FROM EARLIER CONVECTION AND THUS LIMITED INSTABILITY. VCSH MIGHT BE THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THE PCPN CHANCES...WITH UPDATES IF THE CHANCES BECOME MORE PROBABLE. AT THIS MOMENT...VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD BE PREDOMINANT THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE FRONT SHOULD CONTINUE TO HOVER TO THE SOUTH ON TUE...AND SO SHOULD MOST OF THE RAIN CHANCES. NUMERICAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS SOME IFR FG POTENTIAL AT KRST/KLSE. LIGHT WIND PROFILE UPWARDS OF 3500 FT VIA BUFKIT SOUNDINGS...AND A MOIST NEAR SFC AIRMASS WOULD SUPPORT THIS. CLOUDS DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN...BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THERE COULD BE A PERIOD OF SCT CLOUDS OVERNIGHT...WHICH WOULD HELP WITH RADIATIONAL COOLING. HOWEVER...NUMERICAL GUIDANCE HAS DONE POORLY WITH PREDICTING FG THE PAST COUPLE DAYS...SUGGESTING IT WOULD HAPPEN AND IT HAS NOT. WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY SIGNIFICANT VSBY REDUCTIONS FOR NOW...BUT IT WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...HALBACH AVIATION...RIECK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 310 PM CDT MON JUL 19 2010 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-201000- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 310 PM CDT MON JUL 19 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA... SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM CHANCES CONTINUE TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY EVENING...BUT WITH LIMITED INSTABILITY...SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP OVER THE PLAIN STATES... APPROACHING THE REGION ON THURSDAY. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL SPREAD NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT AS A RESULT. DEPENDING ON THE STRENGTH OF THE LOW AND HOW FAR NORTH THE FRONT WOULD LIFT...A FEW SEVERE STORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY BE POSSIBLE THURSDAY. IN ADDITION...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN LOOKS POSSIBLE WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF SPOTTER GROUPS TONIGHT IS NOT ANTICIPATED. RAINFALL REPORTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED. RRS/RIECK
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:50 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
An area of showers and a few thunderstorms produced a funnel cloud just south of the city of Rochester.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 2010
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 244024.