Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Aberdeen, SD

August 12, 1999Dewey County, South Dakota

NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this tornado warning at Aug 12, 1999, 12:27 AM MDT for Dewey County, South Dakota. It was in force for 33 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
Aug 12, 1999, 12:27 AM MDT (06:27 UTC)
Expired
Aug 12, 1999, 1:00 AM MDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Aberdeen, SD
Area
Whole counties

County Dewey County, SD

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 180 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:28 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 11, 9:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1999-08-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1951 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1999-08-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 126 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1951 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
806 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
126 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
13.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABR 120628 RRA
TORABR
SDC041-120700-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
127 AM CDT THU AUG 12 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  DEWEY COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 100 AM MDT (200 AM CDT)

* AT 1226 AM MDT... ABERDEEN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 29
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF MOBRIDGE OR 11 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TIMBER LAKE
  MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  WHITEHORSE       AT 1240 AM CDT

IF YOU ARE IN A MULTIPLE STORY BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR
ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

JL/KH

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 11, 8:00 PM MDT, 4 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 8:00 PM MDT, 4 hours 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
9 PM CDT WED AUG 11 1999

CURRENT RADAR AND SATELITTE SHOWING VERY LITTLE CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY
IN ABERDEEN COUNTY WARNING AREA.  MSAS HAS LOW CENTER IN WEST
CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA WITH WARM FRONT ALONG NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA
BORDER.  POTENTIAL IS STRONG ENOUGH TO STAY WITH CURRENT FORECAST AS
LOW LEVEL JET STRENGTHENS.  WILL UPDATE CURRENT PACKAGE FOR MINOR
WORDING.

.ABR...NONE.

KEEFE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Aberdeen, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 11, 9:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCorson61 min
Aug 11, 10:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCorson61 min
Aug 11, 11:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDewey64 min
Aug 11, 11:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCorson61 min
Aug 12, 12:11 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDewey64 min
Aug 12, 12:44 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCorson61 min
Aug 12, 12:47 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRWalworth63 min
Aug 12, 1:05 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCampbell65 min
Aug 12, 4:03 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRBrown, Spink47 min
Aug 12, 4:26 AM MDTTornado WarningABRBrown, Spink49 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

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.