Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 17, NWS La Crosse, WI

July 20, 1997Fillmore County, Mower County, Minnesota; Howard County, Iowa

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 1997, 9:15 PM CDT for Fillmore County, Mower County, Minnesota; Howard County, Iowa. It was in force for 60 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, 9:15 PM CDT (02:15 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 1997, 10:15 PM CDT
In force: 60 min
Issued by: NWS La Crosse, WI
Area: Whole counties

Counties Howard County, IA, Fillmore County, MN, Mower County, MN

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 20, 9:20 PM CDT	Tornado F0	Cresco, IA

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, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 172 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: 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.

000 
TTAA00 KLSE 210217 RRA
TORLSE
IAC089-MNC045-099-210315-

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

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
    MOWER COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA
    FILLMORE COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA
    HOWARD COUNTY - NORTHEASTERN IOWA

* UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    LIME SPRINGS
    HARMONY
    CHERRY GROVE

* AT 915 PM STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 30 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF DECORAH IN HOWARD COUNTY AND FUNNEL CLOUDS IN
  MOWER COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

* ONE STORM WILL BE NEAR LIME SPRINGS BY 935 PM.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THESE DANGEROUS STORMS...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN
TZHE 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 7:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Dodge, Olmsted	65 min
Jul 20, 8:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Winona	63 min
Jul 20, 8:19 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Winona	41 min
Jul 20, 8:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Olmsted	36 min
Jul 20, 8:51 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ARX	Winona	3 hr
Jul 20, 8:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Houston	58 min
Jul 20, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Winona	45 min
Jul 20, 10:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Fillmore	45 min
Jul 20, 9:33 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Winneshiek	62 min

Nearby

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