Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 686

August 15, 199740 counties in Minnesota; 11 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 15, 1997, 4:15 PM CDT for 40 counties in Minnesota; 11 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 15, 1997, 4:15 PM CDT (21:15 UTC)
Expired: Aug 15, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 51 counties

Anoka County, MN, Benton County, MN, Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Carver County, MN, Chisago County, MN, Cottonwood County, MN, Dakota County, MN, Dodge County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Hennepin County, MN, Houston County, MN, Isanti County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Kandiyohi County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, McLeod County, MN, Meeker County, MN, Mower County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Ramsey County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Renville County, MN, Rice County, MN, Scott County, MN, Sherburne County, MN, Sibley County, MN, Stearns County, MN, Steele County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Washington County, MN, Watonwan County, MN, Winona County, MN, Wright County, MN, Barron County, WI, Buffalo County, WI, Chippewa County, WI, Dunn County, WI, Eau Claire County, WI, Pepin County, WI, Pierce County, WI, Polk County, WI, Rusk County, WI, Saint Croix County, WI, Trempealeau County, WI

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:17 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.

Warnings issued inside it

15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 15, 4:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	McLeod, Meeker, Renville	42 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
Aug 15, 6:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Polk	65 min
Aug 15, 8:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Wabasha	52 min
Aug 15, 8:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Wabasha	40 min
Aug 15, 9:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ARX	Buffalo	49 min
Aug 15, 9:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ARX	Trempealeau	45 min

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 41 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.

390 
WWUS9 KMKC 152056
SEL6  
MKC WW 152056
MNZ000-WIZ000-160300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 686
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
356 PM CDT FRI AUG 15 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHERN MINNESOTA                          
   WESTERN WISCONSIN                          

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 415 PM UNTIL 1000
PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 75 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 105 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES EAST OF FAIRMONT MINNESOTA TO 60 MILES EAST
NORTHEAST OF SAINT CLOUD MINNESOTA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 685...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING AHEAD OF STRONG COLD FRONT
MOVING INTO MOISTURE AXIS WHERE CAPES FROM 2000 TO 3000 J/KG.
DYNAMIC SUPPORT STRONG AS REGION WILL BE IN LEFT FRONT QUAD OF 120
KT UPPER JET. 60 TO 70 KT MID LEVEL FLOW WILL PROVIDE FAVORABLE
SHEAR FOR DOWNBURSTS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. 


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 64 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27050.


...ROGASH

433,0953 454,0950 454,0903 433,0911

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 1997 Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 1997 Every tornado watch 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.