Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 15, 1998Faribault County, Martin County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1998, 2:42 AM CDT for Faribault County, Martin County, Minnesota. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 1998, 2:42 AM CDT (07:42 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1998, 3:30 AM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Faribault County, MN, Martin County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:41 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 141 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 00:00Z on 1998-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1271 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 00:00Z on 1998-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 171 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1271 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-141 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2222 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
203 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

047 
WFUS1 KMSP 151943
TORMSP
MNC043-091-152030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
242 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS
ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN FARIBAULT COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  EASTERN MARTIN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 330 PM CDT

* AT 240 PM CDT...SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 2 MILES
  SOUTH OF LEDYARD IOWA OR 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FAIRMONT.  THE
  STORM WAS MOVING NORTH AT 50 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    PILOT GROVE
    GUCKEEN
    WINNEBAGO
    CITY OF BLUE EARTH

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

JMP/JBJ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 2:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFaribault12 hr
May 15, 3:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXNicollet13 hr
May 15, 4:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXLac qui Parle47 min
May 15, 1:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXPope, Stearns32 min
May 15, 1:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXBenton, Stearns37 min
May 15, 1:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMorrison40 min
May 15, 2:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMartin51 min
May 15, 3:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXLe Sueur, Sibley63 min
May 15, 3:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXRice, Scott50 min
May 15, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver51 min
May 15, 4:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXAnoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Wright63 min
May 15, 4:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMeeker31 min
May 15, 4:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXSherburne, Stearns56 min
May 15, 4:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXWashington56 min
May 15, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXBenton, Isanti, Mille Lacs58 min
May 15, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXChisago58 min
May 15, 4:51 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXAnoka, Ramsey, Washington29 min
May 15, 4:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMorrison, Todd64 min
May 15, 5:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXKanabec57 min
May 15, 5:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMille Lacs29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.