Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1994

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 82, NWS Grand Forks, ND

September 12, 1994Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 12, 1994, 11:21 AM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 69 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Sep 12, 1994, 11:21 AM CDT (16:21 UTC)
Expired: Sep 12, 1994, 12:30 PM CDT
In force: 69 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties

County Polk County, MN

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 246 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 635 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 38 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 
WUUS1 KFAR 121621 RRA
SVRFAR
MNC119-121730-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
1121 AM CDT MON SEP 12 1994

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTY

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF MINNESOTA
      SOUTHERN POLK

AT 1117 AM CDT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS NOTED ON FARGO WEATHER
RADAR OVER SOUTHERN POLK COUNTY MINNESOTA ABOUT 10 MILES EAST NORTH
EAST OF THE TOWN OF BELTRAMI.  THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT
25 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE HAIL IN ADDITION TO VERY
HEAVY RAIN.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE POSSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

THIS SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORM MAY PRODUCE EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN THAT
CAN QUICKLY FLOOD SMALL STREAMS...LOW LYING AREAS...AND UNDERPASSES.
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WERE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY.
VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED IMMEDIATELY.
MOVE TO HIGH GROUND.
BENNETT

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Sep 12, 10:50 AM CDT, 31 minutes before

NDZ007-008-016-026>030-038-039-048-049-051>053-MNZ001>004-
007>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-039>041-047-121650-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
1050 AM CDT MON SEP 12 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS THE RED RIVER VALLEY AREA...

AT 1025 AM CDT NUMEROUS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED ACROSS PARTS
OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE JUST NORTHWEST OF THOMPSON AND OVER NORTHWOOD
IN GRAND FORKS COUNTY OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD MOVE INTO NORTHERN POLK COUNTY OF
MINNESOTA BY 1115 AM.

OTHER STRONG STORMS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS SOUTHERN TRAVERSE AND STEVENS
COUNTIES OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.  THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO
POPE AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES BY MIDDAY.
THESE STRONG STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING
AND GUSTY WINDS..ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN.

ANYONE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD BE ALERT AND READY TO MOVE TO
SAFE SHELTER..IF THE NEED ARISES.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION ABOUT THESE STORMS.
BENNETT

Special weather statement, Sep 12, 11:01 AM CDT, 20 minutes before

NDZ007-008-016-026>030-038-039-048-049-051>053-MNZ001>004-
007>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-039>041-047-121650-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
1050 AM CDT MON SEP 12 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS THE RED RIVER VALLEY AREA...

AT 1025 AM CDT NUMEROUS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED ACROSS PARTS
OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE JUST NORTHWEST OF THOMPSON AND OVER NORTHWOOD
IN GRAND FORKS COUNTY OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.  THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD MOVE INTO NORTHERN POLK COUNTY OF
MINNESOTA BY 1115 AM.

OTHER STRONG STORMS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS SOUTHERN TRAVERSE AND STEVENS
COUNTIES OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.  THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO
POPE AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES BY MIDDAY.
THESE STRONG STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING
AND GUSTY WINDS..ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN.

ANYONE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD BE ALERT AND READY TO MOVE TO
SAFE SHELTER..IF THE NEED ARISES.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION ABOUT THESE STORMS.
BENNETT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 12, 1:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Douglas, Grant	39 min
Sep 12, 5:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Clay, Mahnomen, Norman	60 min
Sep 12, 6:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Becker	58 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1994 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1994

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.