Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1999, 9:07 AM CDT for Clay County, Minnesota. It was in force for 33 min. 2 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
- Jul 3, 1999, 9:07 AM CDT (14:07 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 3, 1999, 9:40 AM CDT
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Clay County, MN
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:09 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 9:15 AM CDT | Hail 2.75 | Averill, MN | The hail caused quite a bit of damage to cars and homes. |
| Jul 3, 9:20 AM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Hitterdal, 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 7:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 266 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2273 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 57 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 216 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 417 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 031408 RRA TORFAR MNC027-031440- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 907 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHEASTERN CLAY COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA * UNTIL 940 AM CDT * AT 906 AM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 21 MILES EAST OF FARGO OR 4 MILES NORTH OF HAWLEY...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR HITTERDAHL AND HAWLEY BY 920 AM CDT. DO NOT OUTRUN A TORNADO IN YOUR CAR. LEAVE YOUR CAR AND GO TO A STURDY BUILDING OR SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT. NG
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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jul 3, 3:00 AM CDT, 6 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 3:00 AM CDT, 6 hours 7 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 300 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 1999 FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE EXTENT AND SEVERITY OF TSRA AS WELL AS TEMPS. MODELS GENERALLY IN FAIR AGREEMENT THROUGH PERIOD. THROUGH EARLY FCST PERIOD 3HR PRESSURE FALL TENDENCY FROM MSAS WOULD FAVOR ETA SFC LOW LOCATION VS NGM HOWEVER MODELS CONVERGE IN LATER PERIODS. CURRENT SFC MAP INDICATING WK BOUNDARY FROM SW TO NE ND. CURRENT NON SEVERE CONVECTION NORTH OF MCS OVR ND ASSOCIATED WITH VORT LOBE/S/W PICKED UP ON MODELS AND WV WITH SHIFTS NORTHEAST TODAY. FARTHER SOUTH AIRMASS SOMEWHAT CONTAMINATED BY CURRENT SD/MN MCS HOWEVER WARM FRONT LOOKS TO BE ORIENTED FROM SFC LOW OVR CENTRAL SD EASTWARD TO NEAR ATY THEN INTO SW MN. SEVERE WX PARAMATERS IN PLACE FOR LATER TODAY ACROSS LARGE PART OF FA. WYO SFC LOW PROPAGATES EAST TO CENTRAL SD WITH WARM FRONT FROM SE NE TO LAKE SUPERIOR. SW UPPER FLOW AMPLIFIES DURING PERIOD AND TUF TO PICKOUT ANY PARTICULAR WAVE UPSTREAM. INSTABILITY INCREASES DURING AM AS 65 TO 70 TDS CONTINUE TO LIFT NORTH AND PWATS INCREASE TO GREATER THAN 1.5 INCHES WHICH MAY BRING HEAVY RAIN THREAT TO AREA. FEEL INITIAL PRIME AREA TO BE FROM LOW CENTER ALONG BOUNDARY. WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH DURING DAY TO NORTHERN COUNTIES BY 00Z. WITH IMPRESSIVE H7 TEMPS ONE WOULD THINK AIRMASS WOULD BE CAPPED AS FRONT LIFTS NORTH. CONVECTIVE DEBRIS MAY INHIBIT INITIAL HEATING SO MAY TAKE SOME TIME FOR AIRMASS TO REALLY DESTABALIZE SO MAIN SEVERE THREAT MAY BE FARTHER NORTH AS NEXT SW LIFTS NORTHEAST TONIGHT. OTHER MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES MAY ALSO INFLUENCE SEVERE THREAT WITH PASSING MCS. TIMING OF UPPER SUPPORT ALSO IN QUESTION FOR EARLY SVR THREAT. WAA CONTINUES INTO SUNDAY AND WITH SFC LOW HANGING UP OVR SD WITH SW-NE ORIENTED BOUNDARY THROUGH FA FELL CONVECTIVE THREAT WILL CONTINUE OVER SE PTN OF FA. .FGF...NONE VOELKER
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 3, 5:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 22 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052-053-031410- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 545 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 1999 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... SYNOPSIS...A WARM FRONT OVER NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA WILL LIFT NORTH TODAY. AS THE FRONT LIFTS NORTH VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION. THIS WARM FRONT WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AS IT LIFTS NORTH ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. AREA OF CONCERN...THE MOST FAVORABLE AREA FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 94 EARLY THIS AFTERNOON SPREADING NORTHWARD DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. TIME...START AFTER NOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHT TIME HOURS. TYPE OF HAZARD...MAINLY LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED. VOELKER
Special weather statement, Jul 3, 5:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 22 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052-053-031410- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 545 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 1999 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... SYNOPSIS...A WARM FRONT OVER NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA WILL LIFT NORTH TODAY. AS THE FRONT LIFTS NORTH VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION. THIS WARM FRONT WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AS IT LIFTS NORTH ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT. AREA OF CONCERN...THE MOST FAVORABLE AREA FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 94 EARLY THIS AFTERNOON SPREADING NORTHWARD DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. TIME...START AFTER NOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHT TIME HOURS. TYPE OF HAZARD...MAINLY LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED. VOELKER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 8:41 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clay | 34 min |
| Jul 3, 9:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Becker | 31 min |
| Jul 3, 9:59 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Clearwater, Mahnomen | 31 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.