Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 12, NWS La Crosse, WI

July 20, 1997Dodge County, Olmsted County, Minnesota

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 1997, 7:25 PM CDT for Dodge County, Olmsted County, Minnesota. It was in force for 65 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 20, 1997, 7:25 PM CDT (00:25 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 1997, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Dodge County, MN, Olmsted County, MN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 20, 7:45 PM CDTTornado F0Dodge Center, 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, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 121 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 1997-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1231 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Minneapolis, MN at 00:00Z on 1997-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -22 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
1231 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1020 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
31 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.

544 
WFUS1 KLSE 210028 RRA
TORLSE
MNC039-109-210130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
725 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
    DODGE COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA
    OLMSTED COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    DODGE CENTER
    ROCHESTER
    WEST CONCORD
    BYRON

* AT 720 PM STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUDS 10 TO 20 MILES
  WEST OF ROCHESTER. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR ROCHESTER BY 750 PM.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THIS DANGEROUS STORM...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN
THE LOWEST FLOOR AND INNER MOST ROOM OF A BUILDING.

RIECK

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 8:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXWinona63 min
Jul 20, 8:19 PM CDTTornado WarningARXWinona41 min
Jul 20, 8:29 PM CDTTornado WarningARXOlmsted36 min
Jul 20, 8:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningARXWinona3 hr
Jul 20, 8:52 PM CDTTornado WarningARXHouston58 min
Jul 20, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WarningARXWinona45 min
Jul 20, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WarningARXFillmore, Mower60 min
Jul 20, 10:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningARXFillmore45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.