Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 85, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 11, 1996, 7:53 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Minnesota. It was in force for 37 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
- Jul 11, 1996, 7:53 PM CDT (00:53 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 11, 1996, 8:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 37 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Otter Tail County, MN
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 175 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 8:07 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Parkers Prairie, 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
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 239 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
- 416 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -71 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 931 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 35 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 1.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 120054 SVRFAR MNC111-120130- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ND 753 PM CDT THU JUL 11 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA ...SOUTHEASTERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY AT 753 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR URBANK...OR 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FERGUS FALLS. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE PARKERS PRAIRIE. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.
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
Special weather statement, Jul 11, 2:27 PM CDT, 5 hours 26 minutes before
NDZ006-007-008-014-015-016-024-026-027-028-029-030-038-039-049- 052-053-MNZ004-005-006-007-008-009-001-002-003-013-014-015-016- 017-022-023-024-027-028-029-030-031-032-040-120000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA 230 PM CDT THU JUL 11 1996 ...COLD AIR FUNNELS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON... FUNNELS CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN PARTS OF NORTHWEST MINESOTA THIS AFTERNOON. NO DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED AND TOUCH DOWNS HAVE NOT BEEN CONFIRMED. ONE SUCH FUNNEL WAS REPORT NEAR LANCASTER IN KITTSON COUNTY. THE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA FAVOR THE FORMATION OF A TYPE OF FUNNEL CLOUD COMMONLY CALLED A COLD AIR FUNNEL. THESE FUNNELS ARE USUALLY SMALL AND ARE NOT AS VIOLENT AS THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STUDIES OF COLD AIR FUNNELS SHOW THAT THEY RARELY MAKE CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. THEY NORMALLY PROTUDE A FEW HUNDRED FEET BELOW THE PARENT CLOUD...ROTATE LIKE A TOP...AND LAST FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE DISSIPATING. . PEOPLE IN THE AREA SHOULD NOT BECOME UNDULY ALARMED BUT SHOULD REMAIN ON THE ALERT AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IF A FUNNEL APPROACHES THE GROUND...OR A LOCAL WARNING IS ISSUEbD. BELLES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 7:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Wadena | 25 min |
| Jul 11, 7:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Wadena | 15 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 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.