Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Twin Cities, MN

July 17, 1996Chippewa County, Swift County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at Jul 17, 1996, 11:57 PM CDT for Chippewa County, Swift County, Minnesota. It was in force for 33 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 17, 1996, 11:57 PM CDT (04:57 UTC)
Expired: Jul 18, 1996, 12:30 AM CDT
In force: 33 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 04:58 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 18, 12:15 AM CDT	Hail 1	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, 5.0 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: 1409 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 988 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 354 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.8
Supercell composite: 12.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 180459
TORMSP
MNC023-151-180530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1157 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  NORTHEASTERN CHIPPEWA COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  SOUTHEASTERN SWIFT COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 1230 AM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    KERKHOVEN
    MURDOCK

* AT 1159 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO 15 MILES WEST OF
  WILLMAR MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.


 GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!

HOWIESON

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 17, 10:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Stevens	53 min
Jul 17, 10:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Lac qui Parle, Swift	63 min
Jul 17, 10:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Stevens	50 min
Jul 17, 11:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Stevens, Swift	34 min
Jul 17, 11:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Swift	40 min
Jul 17, 11:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Pope	66 min
Jul 17, 11:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Kandiyohi	62 min
Jul 18, 12:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Stearns	42 min
Jul 18, 12:31 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Kandiyohi, Stearns	49 min
Jul 18, 12:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Kandiyohi, Meeker, Stearns	49 min
Jul 18, 12:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Swift	43 min
Jul 18, 12:49 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Stearns	41 min
Jul 18, 12:57 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Benton, Sherburne, Wright	63 min
Jul 18, 1:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Renville	47 min
Jul 18, 3:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Anoka, Ramsey	47 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1996 Every tornado warning in 1996 Tornadoes 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.