Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 15, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 1987, 7:49 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota; Grand Forks County, North Dakota. It was in force for 56 min. 3 reports 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 5, 1987, 7:49 PM CDT (00:49 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 5, 1987, 8:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 56 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Polk County, MN, Grand Forks County, ND
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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 7:59 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Grand Forks, ND | |
| Aug 5, 8:25 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Grand Forks, ND | |
| Aug 5, 8:35 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Grand Forks, ND |
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
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 308 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 282 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -257 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2542 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -78 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -33 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 060049 TORFAR NDC035-MNC119-060145- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND 749 PM CDT WED AUG 5 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...EASTERN GRAND FORKS NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...WESTERN POLK AT 735 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS NORTH DAKOTA NEAR EMERADO NORTH DAKOTA. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER IF AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING. IF CHAUGHT OUTDOORS...GET INTO A DITCH...GULLY...RAVINE...OR EVEN A LOW LYING SPOT ON THE GROUND. PROTECT YOUR HEAD. THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL...AND DANGEROUS STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 7:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Polk | 66 min |
| Aug 5, 8:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Pennington, Polk | 55 min |
| Aug 5, 7:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 60 min |
| Aug 5, 7:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Nelson | 60 min |
| Aug 5, 7:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Steele, Traill | 56 min |
| Aug 5, 8:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks, Nelson | 55 min |
| Aug 5, 8:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Steele | 58 min |
| Aug 5, 8:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 55 min |
| Aug 5, 8:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Traill | 63 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1987Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes 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.