Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 1, 1987Polk County, Red Lake County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 1987, 4:41 PM CDT for Polk County, Red Lake County, Minnesota. It was in force for 34 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
Jul 1, 1987, 4:41 PM CDT (21:41 UTC)
Expired
Jul 1, 1987, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Polk County, MN, Red Lake 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
Jul 1, 4:44 PM CDTTornado F0Polk, 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

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 234 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 1987-07-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 1987-07-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1712 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
58 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 012142
TORFAR
MNC119-125-012215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
441 PM CDT WED JUL 1 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...EASTERN POLK AND RED LAKE

AT 435 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY THE POLK COUNTY SHERIFFS
OFFICE 10 MILES EAST OF CROOKSTON MINNESOTA NEAR THE TOWN OF
MARCOUX.  RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN THE SAME AREA
MOVING EAST AT 15 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 GROUND.  PROTECT YOUR HEAD.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

EWENS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 1, 5:15 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFPolk, Red Lake25 min
Jul 1, 5:25 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFClearwater35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 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.