Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 46, NWS Twin Cities, MN

September 18, 1997Morrison County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at Sep 18, 1997, 7:08 PM CDT for Morrison County, Minnesota. It was in force for 37 min. 1 report 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, 7:08 PM CDT (00:08 UTC)
Expired: Sep 18, 1997, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Whole counties

County Morrison County, MN

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Sep 18, 7:30 PM CDT	Tornado F2	Royalton, MN	Several buildings severely damaged. Numerous trees and power lines down.

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
Sep 18, 5:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 139 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: 1943 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -114 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 867 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 298 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 399 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.1
Supercell composite: 8.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

832 
WFUS1 KMSP 190009 RRA
TORMSP
MNC097-190045-

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


* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  MORRISON COUNTY - CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    LITTLE FALLS
    ROYALTON
    BUCKMAN
    BOWLUS

* AT 705 PM CDT SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS 4
  MILES NORTH OF UPSALA...OR ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF ST CLOUD.
  DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THIS STORM HAS A STRONG POTENTIAL
  TO PRODUCE TORNADOES.  THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPM.

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

MILLER


&

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 18, 7:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Kanabec	35 min
Sep 18, 7:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Morrison	47 min
Sep 18, 7:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Benton, Mille Lacs	49 min

Nearby

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