Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 211, NWS Grand Forks, ND

September 7, 1997Clay County, Minnesota; Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 7, 1997, 11:37 PM CDT for Clay County, Minnesota; Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 38 min. 4 reports 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
Sep 7, 1997, 11:37 PM CDT (04:37 UTC)
Expired
Sep 8, 1997, 12:15 AM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clay County, MN, Cass County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:40 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
Sep 7, 11:44 PM CDTHail 0.75Argusville, ND
Sep 8, 12:05 AM CDTHail 0.75Fargo, NDThe hailstorm hit several car dealerships along Interstate 29 in Fargo, causing damage to numerous cars and trucks.
Sep 8, 12:14 AM CDTHail 1Moorhead, MN
Sep 8, 12:25 AM CDTHail 0.75Fargo, ND

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

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 253 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1997-09-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1847 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1997-09-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1847 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1152 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 080438 RRA
SVRFAR
MNC027-NDC017-080515-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1137 PM CDT SUN SEP 7 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
 
   ...NORTHERN CLAY COUNTY
 
 
IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...NORTHERN CASS COUNTY
 
AT 1134 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM FROM ARGUSVILLE
NORTH DAKOTA TO GEORGETOWN MINNESOTA OR 15 MILES NORTH OF FARGO.
MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NORTH OF
FARGO BY 1210 AM MONDAY MORNING.
d 
REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO
PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

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 Sep 7, 9:02 PM CDT, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 7, 9:02 PM CDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
901 PM CDT SUN SEP 7 1997

FIRST PERIOD DISCUSSION...GENERAL TREND ON STRMS ON 88D HAS BEEN
ON THE DCRS ESPECIALLY IN ERN ND. HOWEVER IR IMAGERY HAS SOME
BUILDING TO THE SW. 88D VAD WND HAS RELATIVELY WK WNDS ALFT
MAKING FOR PULSE STORMS. LOW LVL FLO ON VAD WND HAS INCRSD
A BIT IN LAST HALF HOUR. ADAP CONTS TO SHOW SFC MOIST CNVG
IN NRN CNTYS BUT LESS THAN EARLIER PLOTS. BEST INSTABLILITES
REMAIN AHEAD OF CD FNT. WITH SFC HTG GONE XPCT STRMS TO CONT
TO DROP BLO SVR LVLS. HOWEVER LLJ MAY KEEP THINGS ALIVE FOR A WHILE.

HOPPES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 7, 9:55 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED TIME IN LAST ENTRY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
955 PM CDT SUN SEP 7 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0619 PM    7 S HAMAR                 ND   0.75 INCH HAIL
09/07/97   EDDY

0815 PM    3.5 NE ARDOCH             ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
09/07/97   WALSH

0925 PM    THOMPSON                  ND   0.75 INCH HAIL
09/07/97   GRAND FORKS

 BELLES
Local storm report, Sep 7, 9:56 PM CDT, 1 hour 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED TIME IN LAST ENTRY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
955 PM CDT SUN SEP 7 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0619 PM    7 S HAMAR                 ND   0.75 INCH HAIL
09/07/97   EDDY

0815 PM    3.5 NE ARDOCH             ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
09/07/97   WALSH

0925 PM    THOMPSON                  ND   0.75 INCH HAIL
09/
07/97   GRAND FORKS

 BELLES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 7, 7:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRoseau39 min
Sep 7, 7:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFKittson26 min
Sep 7, 7:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRoseau31 min
Sep 7, 8:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFMarshall28 min
Sep 7, 9:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFMarshall, Polk27 min
Sep 7, 9:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPennington, Polk31 min
Sep 7, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPolk30 min
Sep 7, 10:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman, Polk29 min
Sep 7, 11:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay40 min
Sep 8, 12:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay30 min
Sep 8, 12:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWilkin35 min
Sep 8, 4:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWilkin38 min
Sep 7, 7:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh30 min
Sep 7, 7:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs28 min
Sep 7, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh17 min
Sep 7, 9:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks38 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1997Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 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.