Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 15, NWS La Crosse, WI

July 20, 1997Houston County, Minnesota

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 1997, 8:52 PM CDT for Houston County, Minnesota. It was in force for 58 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 20, 1997, 8:52 PM CDT (01:52 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 1997, 9:50 PM CDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS La Crosse, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Houston County, MN

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 213 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.

962 
WFUS1 KLSE 210154 RRA
TORLSE
MNC055-210250-

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

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
    NORTHERN HOUSTON COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 950 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    HOKAH
    LA CRESCENT

* AT 852 PM STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NORTH OF
  HOKAH...ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH OF WINONA. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST
  AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR LA CRESENT BY 915 PM.

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

RIECK/NELSON

 

&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 7:25 PM CDTTornado WarningARXDodge, Olmsted65 min
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, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.