Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 49, NWS Aberdeen, SD

May 31, 1996Big Stone County, Minnesota; Grant County, South Dakota

NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 1996, 9:46 PM CDT for Big Stone County, Minnesota; Grant County, South Dakota. It was in force for 29 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 31, 1996, 9:46 PM CDT (02:46 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 1996, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Aberdeen, SD
Area
Whole counties

Counties Big Stone County, MN, Grant County, SD

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:46 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 31, 10:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61Milbank, SD

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 149 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1996-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2345 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1996-06-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 257 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2345 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
770 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
340 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.5
Supercell composite
16.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABR 010246
SVRABR
MNC011-SDC051-010315-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
946 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN SD HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

   ...EASTERN GRANT COUNTY

IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA

   ...EASTERN AND  CENTRAL BIG STONE COUNTY
 
AT 945 PM CDT...A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERTORMS EXTENDED FROM CLINTON
IN BIG STONE COUNTY...TO BEMIS IN WEST CENTRAL DEUEL COUNTY.
MOVEMENT IS NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

COMMUNITIES IN THE PATH
INCLUDE...BEMIS...CLINTON...ORTONVILLE...MILBANK...ALBEE...
LABOLT...AND REVILLO.

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN
PRODUCE TORNADOES.
 
WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...YOU SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG
BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS
PASSED. DO NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

BUCKLEW/GS/HG

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

Local storm report, May 31, 3:52 PM CDT, 5 hours 54 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SOUTH DAKOTA
352 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
@
0315 PM    S ISABEL                  SD   .88 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   DEWEY                          SPOTTER REPORT FROM
                                          SHERIFF DEPT.

BUCKLEW
Special weather statement, May 31, 8:16 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
SDZ003>006-009-010-015>018-033>036-010320-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
815 PM CDT (715 PM MDT) FRI MAY 31 1996

...TORNADO WATCH FOR CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA HAS
EXPIRED...
...TORNADO WATCH FOR BROWN AND SPINK COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED...

ALL THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES IN SOUTH DAKOTA HAVE
MOVED TO THE EAST OF BROWN AND SPINK COUNTIES...INTO FAR
NORTHEASTERN AND EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTAB. SEVERE WEATHER IS NO LONGER A
THREAT FROM BROWN AND SPINK COUNTIES WEST INTO CENTRAL AND NORTH
CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...AND TORNADO WATCHES FOR THESE AREAS ARE NO
LONGER IN EFFECT.

MIDDLEBROOKE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 7:47 PM CDTTornado WarningABRBig Stone73 min
May 31, 9:01 PM CDTTornado WarningABRBig Stone34 min
May 31, 7:23 PM CDTTornado WarningABRMarshall32 min
May 31, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCodington, Grant55 min
May 31, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRRoberts55 min
May 31, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningABRGrant, Roberts47 min
May 31, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRClark32 min
May 31, 8:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRClark, Codington, Deuel, Hamlin61 min
May 31, 8:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRRoberts64 min
May 31, 9:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDeuel46 min
May 31, 9:36 PM CDTTornado WarningABRDeuel34 min
May 31, 9:52 PM CDTTornado WarningABRGrant33 min
Jun 1, 4:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMcPherson63 min
Jun 1, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRBrown49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1996Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Dakota, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.