Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Twin Cities, MN

March 29, 1998Blue Earth County, Nicollet County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at Mar 29, 1998, 4:56 PM CST for Blue Earth County, Nicollet County, Minnesota. It was in force for 59 min. 5 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
Mar 29, 1998, 4:56 PM CST (22:56 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1998, 5:55 PM CST
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Blue Earth County, MN, Nicollet County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:57 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
Mar 29, 5:05 PM CSTHail 4.5Courtland, MN
Mar 29, 5:05 PM CSTTornado F4Cambria, MNSee Brown county discussion.
Mar 29, 5:07 PM CSTTornado F4Courtland, MNSee narrative for Brown county.
Mar 29, 5:18 PM CSTTornado F3Nicollet, MNTornado made a direct hit on the city of St. Peter and Gustavius Adolphus College. All major buildings on campus suffered varying degrees of damage. The spire on Christ Chapel snapped in half. 70% of the windows on campus were broken. 500 homes were destro
Mar 29, 5:31 PM CSTHail 1.75St Peter, 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
Mar 29, 2:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 85 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 1998-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1998-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 160 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
551 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
251 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMSP 292256 RRA
TORMSP
MNC013-103-292355-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
456 PM CST SUN MAR 29 1998


* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  BLUE EARTH COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA
  NICOLLET COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 555 PM CST

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    BUTTERNUT
    LAKE CRYSTAL
    JUDSON
    MANKATO
    COURTLAND

* AT 500 PM CST LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO IN RURAL ARhEAS
  EAST OF HANSKA OR ABOUT 20 MILES WEST OF MANKATO.  THE STORM
  WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND!  TAKE SHELTER NOW!

MBK


&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 2:27 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXNicollet, Sibley48 min
Mar 29, 2:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMcLeod, Meeker, Wright47 min
Mar 29, 2:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFaribault, Freeborn48 min
Mar 29, 2:52 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver48 min
Mar 29, 2:52 PM CSTTornado WarningMPXScott38 min
Mar 29, 3:00 PM CSTTornado WarningMPXFreeborn35 min
Mar 29, 3:07 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXWright33 min
Mar 29, 3:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDakota, Hennepin, Ramsey63 min
Mar 29, 3:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXAnoka63 min
Mar 29, 3:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXAnoka, Sherburne42 min
Mar 29, 3:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFreeborn, Steele37 min
Mar 29, 3:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXDakota, Washington63 min
Mar 29, 3:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXGoodhue63 min
Mar 29, 3:39 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXCarver, Sibley36 min
Mar 29, 3:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXChisago, Isanti47 min
Mar 29, 4:21 PM CSTTornado WarningMPXBrown, Watonwan64 min
Mar 29, 4:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXScott47 min
Mar 29, 5:23 PM CSTTornado WarningMPXLe Sueur52 min
Mar 29, 5:47 PM CSTTornado WarningMPXBlue Earth, Nicollet48 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.