Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 103, NWS Twin Cities, MN

July 1, 1997Chippewa County, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 1, 1997, 10:38 PM CDT for Chippewa County, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 52 min. 5 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: Jul 1, 1997, 10:38 PM CDT (03:38 UTC)
Expired: Jul 1, 1997, 11:30 PM CDT
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Chippewa County, WI, Eau Claire County, WI

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:40 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 1, 10:55 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55	Chippewa Falls, WI	Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed.
Jul 1, 11:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60	Cadott, WI	Roof of dairy barn torn off, killing two cows and injuring a dozen other cows. Crops also damaged.
Jul 1, 11:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60	Cadott, WI	Trees blown down. Garage damaged. Estimated windspeed.
Jul 1, 11:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60	Cadott, WI	Semitrailer truck blown off highway. Estimated windspeed.
Jul 1, 11:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55	Ludington, WI	Trees blown over. Estimated windspeed.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 1, 7:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 183 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1759 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1186 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 303 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 455 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 4.3
Supercell composite: 21.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 020338 RRA
SVRMSP
WIC017-035-020430-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1038 PM CDT TUE JUL 1 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  SOUTHERN CHIPPEWA COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN
  EAU CLAIRE COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 1130 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    ALTOONA
    EAU CLAIRE
    CHIPPEWA FALLS
    CADOTT

* AT 1035 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE STORM WITH LARGE
  HAIL 10 MILES WEST OF EAU CLAIRE.  THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT
  20 MPH.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...WITH LARGE HAIL.  STAY INDOORS AWAY
FROM WINDOWS.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE
TORNADOES.

HOWIESON

The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 1, 8:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Polk, Saint Croix	65 min
Jul 1, 8:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Pierce	57 min
Jul 1, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Barron, Dunn	50 min
Jul 1, 10:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Pepin, Pierce	46 min
Jul 1, 10:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Pepin, Pierce	35 min
Jul 1, 11:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Eau Claire	27 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 1997 Every 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.