Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 184, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 23, 1997Mahnomen County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 23, 1997, 6:44 AM CDT for Mahnomen County, Minnesota. It was in force for 31 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
Aug 23, 1997, 6:44 AM CDT (11:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 23, 1997, 7:15 AM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Mahnomen County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:47 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
Aug 23, 7:00 AM CDTHail 1Mahnomen, 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 00:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 233 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 00:00Z on 1997-08-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3 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 00:00Z on 1997-08-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 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
3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1802 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 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 231142 RRA
SVRFAR
MNC087-231215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
644 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
 
   ...MAHNOMEN COUNTY
 
AT 640 AM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 6 MILES EAST OF
MAHNOMEN...OR 35 MILES NORTH OF DETROIT LAKE. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30
MPH. THE STORM WILL REACH HIGHWAY 200 ALONG THE MAHNOMEN-CLEARWATER
COUNTY LINE AROUND 710 AM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...BE PREPARED FOR
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 57 MPH...LARGE HAIL AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING.  MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING AND STAY AWAY
FROM WINDOWS.
 
BOHORQUEZ

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 Aug 23, 3:02 AM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 3:02 AM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
300 AM CDT SAT AUG 23 1997

FIRST PERIOD DISCUSSION...JET STREAK FCST TO INTENSIFY FM SRN
MB INTO MN THIS AFTN AS WM AIR MOVS INTO THE NRN PLNS AND SHRT
WV COMES DOWN THE RIDGE.  H7 VERT MOTION FIELD SUGGEST SUBSIDENCE
THIS AFTN WITH WARMER DRIER AIR MOVG E ACRS CWFA. HOWEVER GRIDDED
XSCTNS INDICATE DRY AIR ALFT WL MOV OVR MOIST LOW LVL AIR ON THE
MN SIDE OF THE RED RVR VLLY. WITH EXIT REGION OF JET IN AREA WL
KEEP A CHC OF AFTN TSTRMS IN ERN CNTYS AND ESPECIALLY THE SE CNTYS.
OW WARMER AIR FCST TO MOV INTO AREA. XPCT HIGHS IN THE UPR 70S IN
BDE AND ROX...LWR 80S IN TVF, FSE0, BJI, PKD...MID 80S DTL, DVL...
UPR 80S IN GFK, FAR, CKN, FFM...ARND 90 IN VLLY CITY.

HOPPES

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.