Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 128, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 16, 1997Kittson County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 16, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT for Kittson County, Minnesota. It was in force for 30 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 16, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 1997, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Kittson County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:45 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 16, 6:05 PM CDTHail 1Caribou, 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

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 257 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 1997-07-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 405 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, International Fa, MN at 12:00Z on 1997-07-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 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
405 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-121 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1474 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
119 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 162248 RRA
SVRFAR
MNC069-162315-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
545 PM CDT WED JUL 16 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
 
   ...NORTHEASTERN KITTSON COUNTY
 
AT 545 PM CDT...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 60
MILES NORTH OF THIEF RIVER FALLS...OR 15 MILES NORTH OF
LANCASTER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THE TOWN OF CARIBOU IS IN THE
PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO
PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LIT0TLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.
 
RA

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 16, 3:43 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 16, 3:43 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
342 PM CDT WED JUL 16 1997

FIRST PERIOD DISCUSSION...HI CAPES ARE FCST REMAIN ACRS SD AND SRN
MN OVRNT WITH LWR VALUES IN ERN ND AND NRN MN. HOWEVER AREAS
TO THE S ARE CAPPED UNDR SRN ROCKIES RIDGE. SFC TROF LINE WAS
OVR ERN ND AND A WK FNTL BNDRY WAS ACRS SRN ND. WK CNVG XPCTD
ALNG SRN ND SFC BNDRY AND H8 CNVGT FLO. COOLER AIR SLIDES SE ALFT
IN NE CNTYS WHILE WM AIR MOVS N IN SW CNTYS. WM DRY AIR MASS UNDR
INVERTED VEE SNDGS SHUD MAKE FOR POT GOOD WND EVENT AND SOME
LARGE HAIL. ELEVATED CONVECTION XPCTD SO SFC PARAMETERS MAY NOT
GIVE CLUES WHERE CONVECTION WL BEGIN.  STRMS MAY FIRE ALNG
CD-WM AIR INTERFACE ALFT WHICH TEND TO THINK WL BE ALNG SRN ND.
MOS TEMPS LOOK GD. UPR 50S IN THE N TO THE MID 60S IN THE S.

HOPPES

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 16, 2:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-171200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
255 PM CDT WED JUL 16 1997

...SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY IN PARTS OF
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ACROSS
SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND ADJACENT PARTS OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM LISBON NORTH DAKOTA TO FARGO TO
PARK RAPIDS MINNESOTA FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY
NIGHT. A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ACROSS
THE REST OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND THE REST OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING
IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND MOVE EAST INTO NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOST LIKELY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND
SOME LARGE HAIL. WARM UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN ACRSS THE NORTHERN
PLAINS ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA.
HOWEVER AREAS TO THE SOUTH WILL BE INITIALLY CAPPED. THUNDERSTORMS
ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS
SOUTHERN NORTH DAKOTA.

HOPPES
Special weather statement, Jul 16, 2:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-171200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
255 PM CDT WED JUL 16 1997

...SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY IN PARTS OF
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ACROSS
SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND ADJACENT PARTS OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE FROM LISBON NORTH DAKOTA TO FARGO TO
PARK RAPIDS MINNESOTA FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY
NIGHT. A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED ACROSS
THE REST OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND THE REST OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING
IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND MOVE EAST INTO NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOST LIKELY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND
SOME LARGE HAIL. WARM UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN ACRSS THE NORTHERN
PLAINS ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA.
HOWEVER AREAS TO THE SOUTH WILL BE INITIALLY CAPPED. THUNDERSTORMS
ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS
SOUTHERN NORTH DAKOTA.

HOPPES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 16, 6:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRoseau34 min
Jul 16, 6:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRoseau37 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1997Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.