Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Aberdeen, SD
NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1996, 9:01 PM CDT for Big Stone County, Minnesota. It was in force for 34 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, 9:01 PM CDT (02:01 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 1996, 9:35 PM CDT
- In force
- 34 min
- Issued by
- NWS Aberdeen, SD
- Area
- Whole counties
County Big Stone County, MN
The radar
The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 156 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:04 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 9:12 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Clinton, MN |
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, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 167 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KABR 010200 TORABR MNC011-010235- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 901 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN SD HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 935 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA ...BIG STONE COUNTY AT 858 PM CDT...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY ABERDEEN DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS 39 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SISSETON OR 10 MILES WEST OF ARTICHOKE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THE COMMUNITIES MOST THREATENED BY THIS TORNADO... ARTICHOKE AROUND 917 PM CDT ROTATING CLOUDS WERE REPORTED 1 MILE NORTH OF ORTONVILLE AT 855 PM CDT. THIS WARNING EXTENDS THE PREVIOUS TORNADO WARNING FOR BIG STONE COUNTY. IF YOU ARE BOATING OR CAMPING...MOVE QUICKLY OFF THE WATER... OUT OF TENTS AND CAMPERS...AND INTO STORM SHELTERS. REST ROOMS AND SHOWERS WITHOUT WINDOWS ARE A GOOD SECOND CHOICE. AS A LAST RESORT...MOVE INTO A DITCH OR LOW AREA AND COVER YOUR HEAD...BUT BE AWARE OF FLOODING WATERS. BUCKLEW/GS
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, May 31, 3:13 PM CDT, 5 hours 48 minutes before
SDZ003>005-009-010-015>017-033>036-010215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 313 PM CDT (213 PM MDT) FRI MAY 31 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT (8 PM MDT)... IN NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...THE WATCH INCLUDES THE COUNTIES OF CAMPBELL...CORSON...DEWEY...EDMUNDS...FAULK...MCPHERSON...POTTER... AND WALWORTH. IN CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA THE AFFECTED COUNTIES INCLUDE HUGHES...HYDE...STANLEY AND SULLY. COMMUNITIES IN THE WATCH INCLUDE TIMBER LAKE...MCINTOSH... MOBRIDGE...PIERRE...GETTYSBURG...IPSWICH...LEOLA AND FAULKTON. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. BE ON THE ALBERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER...AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. MIDDLEBROOKE
Local storm report, May 31, 3:52 PM CDT, 5 hours 9 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.
BUCKLEWSpecial weather statement, May 31, 8:16 PM CDT, 45 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 7:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ABR | Big Stone | 73 min |
| May 31, 9:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Big Stone | 29 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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.