Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 89, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 21, 1987Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 1987, 1:42 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota. It was in force for 48 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 21, 1987, 1:42 PM CDT (18:42 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 1987, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Otter Tail County, MN, Wadena County, MN

The radar

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

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 21, 1:45 PM CDTHail 0.75Otter Tail, MN

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 228 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 1987-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1133 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1987-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 138 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
1133 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-142 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
643 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
96 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 211842
SVRFAR
MNC111-159-211930-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
142 PM CDT FRI AUG 21 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 230 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES OF

WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...SOUTHERN OTTER TAIL AND SOUTHERN WADENA

130 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDRSTORM 20 MILES EAST OF
FERGUS FALLS MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

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.

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.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.