Alert archive / Minnesota / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 10, NWS Grand Forks, ND

April 18, 1997Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this flash flood warning at Apr 18, 1997, 12:21 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 18, 1997, 12:21 PM CDT (17:21 UTC)
Expired
Apr 18, 1997, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Polk County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:22 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.

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 246 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 1997-04-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 1997-04-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 70 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1225 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
70 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
160 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 KFAR 181723 RRA
FFWFAR
MNC119-181930-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1221 PM CDT FRI APR 18 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
 
   ...WESTERN POLK COUNTY
 
AT 1215 PM CDT THE EAST GRAND FORKS EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER REPORTS
A DIKE BREAK IN THE TIMBERLINE AND JAMES STREET AREA. THE NATIONAL GUARD
IS AT THE SCENE. THE LOCATION IS BEHIND THE VFW ARENA.
 
PERSONS IN THIS AREA ARE ENCORAGED TO TAKE ACTION NOW! AREAS THAT NEED
EVACUATION WILL BE NOTIFIED WITHIN 30 TO 40 MINUTES.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER...MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.L

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 18, 3:52 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFPolk98 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Minnesota, 1997Every flash flood warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.