Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Duluth, MN

July 12, 1995Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota

NWS Duluth, MN issued this tornado warning at Jul 12, 1995, 7:09 AM CDT for Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It was in force for 36 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 12, 1995, 7:09 AM CDT (12:09 UTC)
Expired
Jul 12, 1995, 7:45 AM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Duluth, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lake County, MN, Saint Louis County, MN

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 152 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 1995-07-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3550 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 1995-07-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 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
3550 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
652 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
9.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDLH 121212
TORDLH
MNC075-137-MNZ501-121245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
709 AM CDT WED JUL 12 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST MINNESOTA
 
   ...SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY...SOUTHEASTERN ST LOUIS COUNTY
 
AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.
 
 
AT 705 AM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED A TORNADO IN CENTRAL
LAKES...WHICH IS 35 MILES NORTH OF DULUTH. THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING
THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR. CITIES IN THE
PATH OF THE TORNADO INCLUDE TWO HARBORS AND CLIFTON.
 
IN 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.
 
TAP

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, 2:57 AM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes before
SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN
300 AM CDT WED JUL 12 1995

MNZ005-006-121100-
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA INCLUDING ROSEAU...WARROAD...AND BAUDETTE...

.NOW...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION BY 6 AM. SOME OF
THESE STORMS COULD BE STRONG. SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 5 TO 10 MPH FOR BOTH
LAND AND LAKE AS READINGS HOLD IN THE LOWER 70S.

MNZ010-011-121400
NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL FALLS AND ELY...

.NOW...
CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS WITH SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING BY 9AM. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BE
STRONG. TEMPERATURES RISING TO AROUND 80 DEGREES BY MID MORNING WITH
SOUTHEAST WINDpS AT 5 TO 10 MPH OVER LAND AND LAKE.

SCW
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 3:00 AM CDT, 4 hours 9 minutes before
SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INTERNATIONAL FALLS MN
300 AM CDT WED JUL 12 1995

MNZ005-006-121100-
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA INCLUDING ROSEAU...WARROAD...AND BAUDETTE...

.NOW...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION BY 6 AM. SOME OF
THESE STORMS COULD BE STRONG. SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 5 TO 10 MPH FOR BOTH
LAND AND LAKE AS READINGS HOLD IN THE LOWER 70S.

MNZ010-011-121400
NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL FALLS AND ELY...

.NOW...
CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS WITH SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING BY 9AM. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BE
STRONG. TEMPERATURES RISING TO AROUND 80 DEGREES BY MID MORNING WITH
SOUTHEAST WINDS AT 5 TO 10 MPH OVER LAND AND LAKE.

SCW

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 12, 5:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCass, Crow Wing, Itasca57 min
Jul 12, 5:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHAitkin58 min
Jul 12, 6:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHCarlton, Saint Louis62 min
Jul 12, 6:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHPine62 min
Jul 12, 6:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDLHLake65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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.