Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 1, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 16, 1987Clay County, Minnesota; Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1987, 8:07 PM CDT for Clay County, Minnesota; Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 68 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 1987, 8:07 PM CDT (01:07 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1987, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
68 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clay County, MN, Cass County, ND

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KHON), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 253 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1987-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1343 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1987-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 88 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1343 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-58 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2116 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
235 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 170113 COR
SVRFAR
NDC017-999-MNC027-170215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
807 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 915 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES OF

EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...EASTERN CASS
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...WESTERN CLAY

AT 755 PM CDT 1-11/4 INCH HAIL WAS REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC 4 MILES
NORTHWEST OF HARWOOD NORTH DAKOTA.

REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 58 MPH AND/OR HAIL 3/4 INCH OR LARGER...DEADLY LIGHTNING...
AND HEAVY RAINS THAT CAN QUICKLY FLOOD A LOW LYING AREA.
REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
A TORNADO WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...YOU SHOULD GO TO A PLACE OF
SAFETY IMMEDIATELY.  REPORT ALL SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AFTER THE STORM PASSES.

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 16, 6:34 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
630 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 1987

TIME      EVENT
533 PM    POLK COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL COVERING
          GROUND 1 MILE WEST OF FISHER MN.

<600 PM    POLK COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL 5 MILES
          WEST OF CROOKSTON MN. STORM MOVING NORTHEAST.
NORDLAND
Special weather statement, May 16, 6:41 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
635 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 1987

 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
    UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

AT 625 PM CDT...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS HAD HAD DEVELOPED OVER PARTS
OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. STRONGEST STORMS WERE OVER THE RED RIVER 15
MILES SOUTH OF GRAND FORKS...15 MILES SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST OF
THIEF RIVER FALLS MINNESOTA. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE
CROOKSTON AND THIEF RIVER FALLS AREAS BY 730 PM CDT.

THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE VERY STRONG WINDS..SMALL HAIL..ALONG WITH
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES.  MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS...ONE STRONG...CONTINUED OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA. THESE STORMS WERE FROM 25 TO 60 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
FARGO AND WILL MOVE ACROSS RANSON COUNTY INTO NORTHERN RICHLAND
COUNTY BY 730 PM CDT.
.
MOVEMENT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WAS EAST AT 30 MILEES AN HOUR.
VOELKER
Special weather statement, May 16, 7:33 PM CDT, 34 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
735 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 1987

 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
    UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

AT 725 PM CDT...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...ONE WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...
CONTINUED OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST
CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

THE STRONGEST STORM WAS 15 MILES SOUTH OF THIEF RIVER FALLS NEAR OKLEE
MINNESOTA. THIS STORM WILL PASS THROUGH OKLEE BY 830 PM CDT.

THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY AND SOME SMALL HAIL.

THERE WAS QUITE A DECREASE IN INTENSITY SINCE 630 PM CDT.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
VOELKER
Special weather statement, May 16, 7:37 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
735 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 1987

 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
    UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

AT 725 PM CDT...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...ONE WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...
CONTINUED OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST
CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

THE STRONGEST STORM WAS 15 MILES SOUTH OF THIEF RIVER FALLS NEAR OKLEE
MINNESOTA. THIS STORM WILL PASS THROUGH OKLEE BY 830 PM CDT.

THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND SOME SMALL HAIL.

THERE WAS QUITE A DECREASE IN INTENSITY SINCE 630 PM CDT.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
VOELKER

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1987Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.