Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 178, NWS Twin Cities, MN

August 21, 1996Chippewa County, Swift County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 1996, 9:39 PM CDT for Chippewa County, Swift County, Minnesota. It was in force for 51 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: Aug 21, 1996, 9:39 PM CDT (02:39 UTC)
Expired: Aug 21, 1996, 10:30 PM CDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Chippewa County, MN, Swift County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 165 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:40 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
Aug 21, 10:25 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Kerkhoven, 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, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 163 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1959 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1126 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 60 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 125 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 4.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 220240
SVRMSP
MNC023-151-220330-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
939 PM CDT WED AUG 21 1996

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  EASTERN CHIPPEWA COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  EASTERN SWIFT COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 1030 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    BENSON
    KERKHOVEN
    CLARA CITY
    MAYNARD

* AT 937 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR
  APPLETON OR ABOUT 20 MILES NORTH OF MONTEVIDEO MOVING EAST AT 30
  MPH.

GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS! A TORNADO
WATCH IS IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES.

MILLER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 21, 8:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Douglas	58 min
Aug 21, 9:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift	57 min
Aug 21, 9:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Todd	56 min
Aug 21, 9:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Douglas	30 min
Aug 21, 10:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Morrison	64 min
Aug 21, 10:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Renville	64 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1996 Every 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.