Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 196, NWS Twin Cities, MN

August 15, 1997McLeod County, Meeker County, Renville County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 15, 1997, 4:33 PM CDT for McLeod County, Meeker County, Renville County, Minnesota. It was in force for 42 min. 3 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: Aug 15, 1997, 4:33 PM CDT (21:33 UTC)
Expired: Aug 15, 1997, 5:15 PM CDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Whole counties

Counties McLeod County, MN, Meeker County, MN, Renville County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:34 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
Aug 15, 4:45 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55	Greenleaf, MN	Power lines blown down. Estimated windspeed.
Aug 15, 4:55 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 56	Dassel, MN
Aug 15, 4:55 PM CDT	Hail 0.88	Dassel, 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 15, 4:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 78 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: 738 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 698 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 58 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 66 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 152135 RRA
SVRMSP
MNC085-093-129-152215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
433 PM CDT FRI AUG 15 1997


* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  WESTERN MC LEOD COUNTY - CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  SOUTHERN MEEKER COUNTY - CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  EASTERN RENVILLE COUNTY - CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    GREENLEAF
    CEDAR MILLS
    BISCAY
    HUTCHINSON
    BUFFALO LAKE

* AT 433 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED TWO SEVERE STORMS WITH
  LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ONE WAS JUST EAST OF COSMOS...OR
  ABOUT 15 MILES WEST OF HUTCHINSON.  THE OTHER NEAR BUFFALO LAKE...
  OR ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HUTCHINSON. THE STORMS WERE MOVING
  EAST AT 35 MPH.

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY.  GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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

MILLER
p

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 14, 7:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Dakota, Rice	46 min
Aug 14, 7:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Le Sueur, Rice	100 min
Aug 14, 7:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Le Sueur, Rice	40 min
Aug 15, 4:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Wright	32 min
Aug 15, 5:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	McLeod	58 min
Aug 15, 5:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Carver	64 min
Aug 15, 5:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Mille Lacs, Sherburne	34 min
Aug 15, 5:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Anoka, Isanti	61 min
Aug 15, 6:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Scott	66 min
Aug 15, 6:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chisago	30 min
Aug 15, 6:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Dakota	63 min
Aug 15, 6:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Le Sueur	50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 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.