Alert archive / Minnesota / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 17, 1996Marshall County, Minnesota; Walsh County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this flash flood warning at May 17, 1996, 8:51 PM CDT for Marshall County, Minnesota; Walsh County, North Dakota. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 1996, 8:51 PM CDT (01:51 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1996, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Marshall County, MN, Walsh County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:54 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.

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 277 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 00:00Z on 1996-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1996-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 71 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1052 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
71 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
204 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 
TTAA00 KFAR 180153
FFWFAR
MNC089-NDC099-180500-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ND
851 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
 
   ...MARSHALL COUNTY
 
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...WALSH COUNTY
 
VERY HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE WARNING
AREA. LAST NIGHT THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCED FLOODING CONDITIONS TO MANY
AREAS. THUNDERSTORM NOW MOVING INTO THE AREA WILL ONLY MAKE
CONDITIONS WORSE. DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES THAT 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL
IS POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
 
ACT NOW IN ORDER TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY.  SMALL STREAMS WILL RISE
RAPIDLY AND PONDING A WATER IS LIKELY.  DO NOT CROSS A FLOODED ROADWAY
IT MAY HIDE A WASHOUT. MOST FLOOD FATALITIES OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES...DO
NOT BE FOOLED BY WATER OVER A ROADWAY IT ONLY TAKES 2 FEET TO MAKE YOUR
CAR BUOYANT.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAfFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
 BELLES

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 17, 3:22 PM CDT, 5 hours 29 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...DELAYED REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
320 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1102 PM    LAWTON                    ND   .75 INCH HAIL WIND DAMAGE
05/16/96   RAMSEY                         LIFT STATION KNOCKED OUT
                                          2-4 INCH DIAMETER TREES DOWN
Special weather statement, May 17, 3:49 PM CDT, 5 hours 2 minutes before
NDZ007-008-015-016-027-MNZ004-005-006-007-008-009-001-013-015-172345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ND
346 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996

...HEAVY RAINFALL IN THUNDERSTORMS IS AGAIN POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHEASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA TONIGHT...

HEAVY RAINFALL LAST NIGHT OVER ALREADY SATURATED GROUND HAS CAUSED
FLOODING PROBLEMS NORTH OF A DEVILS LAKE...MANVEL...THIEF RIVER FALLS...
BAUDETTE LINE.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS
EVENING ACROSS THE AREA...SOME OF WHICH COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN.
LOCALIZED RAINFALL IN THE 1 OR 2 INCH CATEGORY COULD FALL WITH THESE
THUNDERSTORMS IN A SHORT TIME PERIOD....THIS WOULD RESULT IN ADDITIONAL
FLOODING PROBLEMS.

THOSE IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA WHO LIVE
NORTH OF A LINE FROM DEVILS LAKE TO MANVEL TO THIEF RIVER FALL TO
BAUDETTE SHOULD LISTEN TO WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LAT(ER STATEME
SAND BE PREPARED IN CASE HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS OCCUR.

 BELLES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrant38 min
May 17, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFOtter Tail46 min
May 17, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWilkin53 min
May 17, 7:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Clay41 min
May 17, 7:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker25 min
May 17, 8:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClearwater, Mahnomen30 min
May 17, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker24 min
May 17, 8:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFHubbard33 min
May 17, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClearwater, Mahnomen32 min
May 17, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBeltrami32 min
May 17, 7:54 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFCass, Steele, Traill3 hr
May 17, 7:54 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFGrand Forks3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Minnesota, 1996Flash Flood Warnings in North Dakota, 1996Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.