Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 1, 1997Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 1997, 8:30 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 30 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 1, 1997, 8:30 PM CDT (01:30 UTC)
Expired
Jul 1, 1997, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
30 min
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 01:29 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 00:00Z, 1.5 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 00:00Z on 1997-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1091 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 1997-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1091 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1256 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 020131 RRA
TORFAR
MNC119-020200-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
830 PM CDT TUE JUL 1 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
 
   ...NORTHWESTERN POLK COUNTY
 
AT 825 PM CDT A SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO 10 MILES WEST OF ST
HILAIRE...OR 25 MILES EAST OF GRAND FORKS. THE STORM WAS MOVING
NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH. THE STORM WILL BE CROSSING HIGHWAY 75 NORTH OF
ARGUS.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.  WATCH FOR
RISING WATER.
 
KENNEDY
 
 
&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 1, 7:17 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFRed Lake118 min
Jul 1, 7:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRed Lake24 min
Jul 1, 7:40 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFPolk2 hr

Nearby

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