Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 9, 1992Clay County, Minnesota; Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 9, 1992, 4:56 PM CDT for Clay County, Minnesota; Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 34 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 9, 1992, 4:56 PM CDT (21:56 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 1992, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clay County, MN, Cass County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 292 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 1992-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 13 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 1992-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 63 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
13 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-170 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
916 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
44 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 092158
TORFAR
MNC027-NDC017-000-092230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
456 PM CDT THU JUL 9 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FARGO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
 
   ...NORTHERN CLAY COUNTY
 
 
IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...EASTERN CASS COUNTY...FARGO-MOORHEAD AREA
 
AT 455 PM A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS OBSERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
FARGO 10 MILES NORTH-NORTHWEST OF FARGO...IN THE HARWOOD AREA. THIS
FUNNEL CLOUD WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
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

Special weather statement, Jul 9, 1:14 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
NDZ012-013-015-016-017-091900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
113 PM CDT THU JUL 9 1992

 ..STRONG THUNDERSTORMS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING OVER NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 105 PM...RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER PARTS
OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS CURRENTLY LOCATED
20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DEVILS LAKE.  THIS STORM IS LIKELY TO BE PRODUCING
FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SOME SMALL HAIL.

MOVEMENT IS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 25 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS ACROSS NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA SHOULD BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

WELVAERT
Special weather statement, Jul 9, 1:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 9 minutes before
NDZ012-013-015-016-017-MNZ001-006-007-010-092000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
145 PM CDT THU JUL 9 1992

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER PARTS OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

AT 130 PM...RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME
WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS AND SOME SMALL HAIL...OVER PARTS OF NORTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.  THIS AREA WAS 120 MILES WIDE AND
EXTENDED FROM 40 MILES NORTH OF DEVILS LAKE...EASTWARD TO NEAR BEMIDJI.

THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE OVER NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...ONE WAS 25 MILES
NORTHEAST OF DEVILS LAKE NEAR EDMORE...AND ANOTHER WAS 30 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF DEVILS LAKE NEAR WARWICK.  THESE STORMS WERE LIKELY TO BE PRODUCING
VERY HEAVY RAINS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND SOME SMALL HAIL.
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS ACROSS THE REGION SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER
CONDITIONS...AND BE PREPAREDA TO TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACHES.  STAY TUNED TO LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO STATIONS...AS
WELL AS NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS.

WELVAERT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 2:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Mahnomen68 min
Jul 9, 5:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay60 min
Jul 9, 6:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Clay64 min
Jul 9, 2:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs, Nelson53 min
Jul 9, 2:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson41 min
Jul 9, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs, Steele62 min
Jul 9, 4:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele60 min
Jul 9, 4:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass, Traill55 min
Jul 9, 4:33 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFCass27 min
Jul 9, 5:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTraill68 min
Jul 9, 5:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1992Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992

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.