Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 16, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 15, 1987, 3:49 PM CDT for Wilkin County, Minnesota; Richland County, North Dakota. It was in force for 41 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 15, 1987, 3:49 PM CDT (20:49 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 15, 1987, 4:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 41 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Wilkin County, MN, Richland 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 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 205 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
- 1389 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -261 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1459 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 100 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 152049 TORFAR NDC077-MNC167-152130- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND 349 PM CDT SAT AUG 15 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...EASTERN RICHLAND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...WILKIN INCLUDING THE CITIES OF WAHPETON/BRECKENRIDGE. AT 345PM CDT RICHLAND COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED A TORNADO 10 MILES WEST OF WAHPETON NORTH DAKOTA. RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST WEST OF WAHPETON NORTH DAKOTA MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. 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 CAUGHT OUTDOORS...GET INTO A DITCH...GULLY...RAVINE...OR EVEN A LOW LYING SPOT ON THE GROUNND. PROTECT YOUR HEAD. THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL...AND DANGEROUS STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. EWENS
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Aug 15, 11:00 AM CDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before
STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
1058 AM CDT SAT AUG 15 1987
TIME EVENT
1052AM POLK CTY MN SHERIFF REPORTED A BRIEF DOWNPOUR WITH MARBLE
SIZE HAIL IN THE CITY OF CROOKSTON MN.Special weather statement, Aug 15, 12:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND 1237 PM CDT SAT AUG 15 1987 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FIRE-UP OVER NORTHWEST MINNESOTA... AT 1228 PM CDT SEVERAL STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. ONE STRONG STORM WAS JUST WEST OF THE LOWER RED LAKE AND SHOULD MOVE OVER THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE LAKE AND ON ACROSS THE UPPER RED LAKE BY 130 PM. ANOTHER CLUSTER OF STRONG STORMS WAS IN THE FOSSTON AREA. THESE STORMS PRODUCE MARBLE SIZE HAIL..VERY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG..GUSTY WIND IN FOSSTON. THESE STORM SHOULD MOVE TO THE WEST OF THE LOWER RED LAKE BY 130 PM. ANOTHER CLUSTER OF STRONG STORMS WAS IN THE SHELLY/HALSTAD AREA. THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INTO THE FOSSTON AREA BY 130 PM. OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REACHED FROM 30 MILES SOUTH OF FARGO NORTH DAKOTA TO THE UPPER RED LAKE IN NORTHCENTRAL MINNESOTA. ANOTHER AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WAS DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA TO THE WEST OF DEVILS LAKE. MOVEMENT OF ALL OF THESE STORMS AND SHOWERS WAS EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD STAY ABREAST OF THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO GO TO A SAFE SHELTER..IF THE NEED ARISES. BENNETT
Local storm report, Aug 15, 12:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
1253 PM CDT SAT AUG 15 1987
TIME EVENT
1232PM POLK CTY MN SHERIFF REPORTED STRONG WIND AND MARBLE SIZE HAIL
IN THE CITY OF FOSSTON MN.
1233 RADIO STATION IN FOSSTON MN REPORTED VERY HEAVY RAIN..SMALL
HAIL.The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 1:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Beltrami | 60 min |
| Aug 15, 4:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Becker, Clay, Otter Tail | 65 min |
| Aug 15, 5:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Mahnomen, Norman | 54 min |
| Aug 15, 5:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clay | 54 min |
| Aug 15, 5:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Becker, Otter Tail, Wadena | 61 min |
| Aug 15, 5:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Hubbard | 61 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.