Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 15, 1998Anoka County, Ramsey County, Washington County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1998, 4:51 PM CDT for Anoka County, Ramsey County, Washington County, Minnesota. It was in force for 29 min. 4 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
May 15, 1998, 4:51 PM CDT (21:51 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1998, 5:20 PM CDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Anoka County, MN, Ramsey County, MN, Washington County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:53 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 15, 4:59 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 57Anoka Co Blaine Arpt, MN
May 15, 4:59 PM CDTHail 1.75Coon Rapids, MNScattered damage to houses from wind driven hail.
May 15, 5:06 PM CDTHail 1.75Forest Lake, MNScattered house and vehicle damage from wind driven hail. Damage estimate for entire county.
May 15, 5:06 PM CDTHail 0.75Linwood, 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
May 15, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 50 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 1998-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1571 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 1998-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 179 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
1571 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
642 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
6.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 152151 RRA
TORMSP
MNC003-123-163-152220-

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

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

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN ANOKA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  NORTHERN RAMSEY COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  NORTHWESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 520 PM CDT

* AT 450 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR
  ARDEN HILLS AND SHOREVIEW IN NORTHERN RAMSEY COUNTY.  THE STORM
  WAS MOVING NORTH AT 60 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    CIRCLE PINES
    FOREST LAKE
    WHITE BEAR LAKE

GO TO THE0 BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!

JMP

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, 2:42 AM CDTTornado WarningMPXFaribault, Martin48 min
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, 4:56 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.