Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Twin Cities, MN

August 2, 1988Anoka County, Ramsey County, Washington County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at Aug 2, 1988, 3:49 PM CDT for Anoka County, Ramsey County, Washington County, Minnesota. It was in force for 41 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 2, 1988, 3:49 PM CDT (20:49 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 1988, 4:30 PM CDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Anoka County, MN, Ramsey County, MN, Washington County, MN

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

Minneapolis, MN (KSTC), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 50 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 1988-08-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 328 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1988-08-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -36 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
328 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-209 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1281 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 022049
TORMSP
MNC003-123-163-022145-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MINNEAPOLIS MN
349 PM CDT TUE AUG 2 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MINNEAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
          ...ANOKA...RAMSEY...NORTHERN WASHINGTON
 
AT 345 PM CDT..NUMEROUS FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE REPORTED BY SPOTTERS ACROSS
WEST HENNEPIN COUNTY JUST WEST OF DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS. THESE
POTENTIAL TORNADOES WERE MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND ARE
EXPELCTED TO MOVE ACORSS DOWNTOWN MINNEAPLIS AND ST. PAUL.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR lA REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 12:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXTodd50 min
Aug 2, 12:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMorrison47 min
Aug 2, 3:08 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXCarver, Hennepin52 min
Aug 2, 3:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXSherburne30 min
Aug 2, 3:32 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXAnoka, Hennepin28 min
Aug 2, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXWashington15 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.