Severe thunderstorms are likely today across the northern Plains and into the upper Mississippi Valley. Gusty winds and dry conditions will result in widespread critical fire weather through Saturday across parts of the Four Corners region and the Great Basin. A significant and dangerous heat wave will expand from the Central U.S. into the Eastern U.S this weekend through much of next week. Read More >
Overview
During the morning and afternoon of June 27, 2009 a cold front passed through central Minnesota and turned winds westerly. Severe thunderstorms moved over western and central Minnesota in the evening hours. After the storms, dry air was advected into the area and strong westerly winds were generated over western Minnesota. There was no significant damage from the wind gusts except an uprooted willow tree in Waconia.Wind:
The highest wind gusts were observed in the evening from 6-9 pm. The highest wind gust was 60 mph in Chippewa County.
 |
Radar:
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Water vapor imagery and radar reflectivity at 6:24 PM | Water vapor imagery and radar reflectivity at 7:36 PM | Water vapor imagery and radar reflectivity at 8:36 PM | Water vapor imagery and radar reflectivity at 9:24 PM |
Storm Reports
 |
Environment
A cold front turned winds westerly and an upper-level low over North Dakota produced severe thunderstorms with hail. These storms started to dissipate around 7 pm. Water vapor imagery showed that dry air behind the storms moved northeast into western Minnesota. This air advection and potential vorticity advection in the upper and mid-levels amplified surface winds.
 |
 |
 |
| 0-1 km bulk shear magnitude | Surface downdraft CAPE at 5 PM | LAPS surface winds loop |
 |
 |
 |
| 0-3 km lapse rate loop | 500 mb analysis | 250 mb analysis showing strong winds over MN |
 |
Media use of NWS Web News Stories is encouraged! Please acknowledge the NWS as the source of any news information accessed from this site. |
|
Follow us on X
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on YouTube
MPX RSS Feed