Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 751
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 18, 1998, 8:45 PM CDT for 6 counties in Iowa; 22 counties in Minnesota; 10 counties in South Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 18, 1998, 8:45 PM CDT (01:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 19, 1998, 3:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 38 counties
Clay County, IA, Dickinson County, IA, Lyon County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Osceola County, IA, Sioux County, IA, Big Stone County, MN, Brown County, MN, Chippewa County, MN, Cottonwood County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Kandiyohi County, MN, Lac qui Parle County, MN, Lincoln County, MN, Lyon County, MN, Meeker County, MN, Murray County, MN, Nobles County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Pope County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Renville County, MN, Rock County, MN, Stearns County, MN, Stevens County, MN, Swift County, MN, Traverse County, MN, Yellow Medicine County, MN, Brookings County, SD, Deuel County, SD, Grant County, SD, Hamlin County, SD, Lake County, SD, Lincoln County, SD, McCook County, SD, Minnehaha County, SD, Moody County, SD, Turner County, SD
The radar
The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:45 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
16 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 8:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | McCook | 35 min |
| Jul 18, 9:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Stevens | 60 min |
| Jul 18, 9:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Minnehaha | 31 min |
| Jul 18, 9:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Lincoln, Turner | 32 min |
| Jul 18, 9:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Lyon | 34 min |
| Jul 18, 9:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Minnehaha | 11 min |
| Jul 18, 9:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Sioux | 45 min |
| Jul 18, 9:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Redwood | 33 min |
| Jul 18, 9:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Nobles | 45 min |
| Jul 18, 10:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Stevens, Swift | 62 min |
| Jul 18, 10:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Brown, Watonwan | 49 min |
| Jul 18, 10:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Lyon, Osceola | 33 min |
| Jul 18, 10:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | O'Brien | 32 min |
| Jul 18, 10:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Clay, Dickinson | 29 min |
| Jul 18, 11:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | McCook | 31 min |
| Jul 19, 12:08 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Turner | 32 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 185 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2715 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -35 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1730 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -26 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -4 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.1
- Supercell composite
- -1.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS9 KMKC 190118 MKC WW 190118 MNZ000-SDZ000-IAZ000-190800- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 751 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 818 PM CDT SAT JUL 18 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA NORTHWEST IOWA EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 845 PM UNTIL 300 AM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF SIOUX FALLS SOUTH DAKOTA TO ALEXANDRIA 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 750. WATCH NUMBER 750 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 845 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 749... DISCUSSION...BAND OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH ROTATION..CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD TO EAST SOUTHEASTWARD ALONG AND JUST NORTH OF QUASISTATIONARY FRONT IN VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS. VAD WINDS AT MPX AND FSD SUGGEST SUPERCELLS ARE POSSIBLE. HOWEVER... ACTIVITY MAY EVANTUALLY EVOLVE INTO A BOW ECHO. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28035. ...JOHNS ;430,0974 455,0965 455,0935 430,0950;
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 10:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Emmet and 14 more | 6 hr |
| Jul 19, 1:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allamakee, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton and 10 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 1998Tornado Watches in South Dakota, 1998Tornado Watches in Iowa, 1998Every tornado watch 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.