Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 42, NWS Twin Cities, MN

September 18, 1997Mille Lacs County, Morrison County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at Sep 18, 1997, 6:08 PM CDT for Mille Lacs County, Morrison County, Minnesota. It was in force for 52 min. 8 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 18, 1997, 6:08 PM CDT (23:08 UTC)
Expired
Sep 18, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Mille Lacs County, MN, Morrison County, MN

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 18, 6:15 PM CDTTornado F3Lastrup, MNSeveral buildings destroyed and numerous other buildings damaged. Hundreds of trees down. A number of cattle killed in barn collapse. One man injured when the tornado engulfed his car and threw it into a nearby woods. A second man critically injured when his
Sep 18, 6:20 PM CDTHail 3Hillman, MN
Sep 18, 6:22 PM CDTHail 1Onamia, MN
Sep 18, 6:25 PM CDTTornado F3Onamia, MNSeveral buildings destroyed and numerous other buildings damaged. Hundreds of trees down. A number of cattle killed in barn collapse. Damage estimate included in entry for Morrison county. Total path length from 1 NE of Lastup to Onamia was 17 miles.
Sep 18, 6:48 PM CDTTornado F1Wahkon, MN
Sep 18, 6:48 PM CDTHail 2Wahkon, MN
Sep 18, 6:50 PM CDTHail 1.75Wahkon, MN
Sep 18, 7:10 PM CDTHail 1.75Isle, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 18, 5:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 128 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1997-09-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 228 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 1997-09-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 477 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
228 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-404 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1391 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
477 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
490 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 KMSP 182312 RRA
TORMSP
MNC095-097-190000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
608 PM CDT THU SEP 18 1997


* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN MILLE LACS COUNTY - CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  EASTERN MORRISON COUNTY - CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    HILLMAN
    AREAS NORTH OF HILLMAN
    ONAMIA
    SOUTHERN LAKE MILLE LACS

* AT 610 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO JUST
  EAST OF LASTRUP...OR ABOUT 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BRAINERD.  THE
  STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!

TDK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 18, 5:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMorrison32 min
Sep 18, 5:24 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXMorrison51 min
Sep 18, 5:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMille Lacs67 min
Sep 18, 6:04 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXDouglas, Todd26 min
Sep 18, 6:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXKanabec66 min
Sep 18, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXKanabec60 min
Sep 18, 6:34 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXMorrison, Todd41 min
Sep 18, 6:57 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXMille Lacs33 min

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.