Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Rapid City, SD

July 12, 1994Haakon County, South Dakota

NWS Rapid City, SD issued this tornado warning at Jul 12, 1994, 3:06 PM MDT for Haakon County, South Dakota. It was in force for 24 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 12, 1994, 3:06 PM MDT (21:06 UTC)
Expired
Jul 12, 1994, 3:30 PM MDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Rapid City, SD
Area
Whole counties

County Haakon County, SD

The nearest sounding before it

Rapid City, SD (KRAP), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 110 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 1994-07-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 665 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 1994-07-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 66 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
665 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-253 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1133 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
175 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
6.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KRAP 122107
TORRAP
SDC055-122130-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
306 PM MDT TUE JUL 12 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RAPID CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA
 
   ...SOUTHERN HAAKON COUNTY
 
AT 3 PM MDT A TORNADO REMAINED ON THE GROUND AT PHILIP SOUTH DAKOTA...
THE TORNADO WAS LAST SEEN MOVING INTO THE PHILIP AREA BUT SIGHTED IS
HAMPERED BY VERY HEAVY RAINS.
 
PERSONS TRAVELING HIGHWAY 14 BETWEEN WALL...PHILIP AND MIDLAND SHOULD
PULL OVER AND SEEK SAFE SHELTER...RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA SHOULD SEEK
SHELTER NOW.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS 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.
 
 
 
&

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 12, 11:46 AM MDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
SDZ024-121845-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
1146 AM MDT TUE JUL 12 1994

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR SOUTHERN LAWARENCE COUNTY HAS
EXPIRED...

AT 1045 AM MDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT THE SEVERE STORMS
THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING FOR SOUTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY HAVE FALLEN BELOW
SEVERE LIMITS AND ARE NO LONGER CONSIDERED SEVERE.  THEREFORE THE
WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

HINTZ
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 1:19 PM MDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
SDZ026-028>030-042-122120-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
119 PM MDT TUE JUL 12 1994

...HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE BLACK HILLS AND SOUTHWEST SOUTH
DAKOTA...

WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 105 PM MDT SHOWED TWO VERY HEAVY
THUNDERSTORMS.  THE FIRST WAS OVER CENTRAL SHANNON COUNTY NEAR
OGLALA...OR 60 MILES SOUTHEAST OF RAPID CITY.  THE OTHER WAS IN WESTERN
CUSTER COUNTY 10 MILES WEST OF CUSTER...OR 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF RAPID
CITY.  THESE STORMS ARE LIKELY PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL
AS WELL AS DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.  LITTLE MOVEMENT COULD BE
DETERMINED.

NO REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER HAVE BEEN RECIEVED BY THE WEATHER
SERVICE.  HOWEVER...PERSONS ARE URGED TO KEEP AN EYE TO THE SKY THIS
AFTERNOON AND IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SHELTER IN A
STURDY BUILDING AND SAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES.

SEARLES
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 1:20 PM MDT, 1 hour 46 minutes before
SDZ026-028>030-042-122120-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
119 PM MDT TUE JUL 12 1994

...HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE BLACK HILLS AND SOUTHWEST SOUTH
DAKOTA...

WEATH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Rapid City, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 10:46 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRLawrence59 min
Jul 12, 1:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRCuster, Pennington30 min
Jul 12, 1:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRCuster52 min
Jul 12, 1:56 PM MDTTornado WarningUNRPennington34 min
Jul 12, 2:18 PM MDTTornado WarningUNRHaakon42 min
Jul 12, 2:23 PM MDTTornado WarningUNRJackson37 min
Jul 12, 2:45 PM MDTTornado WarningUNRBennett15 min
Jul 12, 3:08 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRCuster37 min
Jul 12, 3:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNR38 min
Jul 12, 3:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRBennett40 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes 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.