Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Aberdeen, SD

May 29, 2004Roberts County, South Dakota

NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this tornado warning at May 29, 2004, 8:49 PM CDT for Roberts County, South Dakota. It was in force for 26 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 29, 2004, 8:49 PM CDT (01:49 UTC)
Expired: May 29, 2004, 9:15 PM CDT
In force: 26 min
Issued by: NWS Aberdeen, SD
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Roberts County, SD

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:52 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 29, 2:05 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 141 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2181 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1118 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 221 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 259 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.8
Supercell composite: 12.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

854 
WFUS53 KABR 300149
TORABR
SDC109-300215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
849 PM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ROBERTS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 849 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 2 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF SISSETON...MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CLAIRE CITY AROUND 905 PM CDT
  NEW EFFINGTON...VICTOR...ROSHOLT AROUND 910 PM CDT

THIS WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING PREVIOUSLY
ISSUED FOR THE WARNED AREA.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING
SITUATION. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO TAKE SHELTER NOW

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
ABERDEEN.

LAT...LON 4557 9722 4558 9691 4591 9662 4591 9711

$$
MCNULTY

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 May 29, 2:25 PM CDT, 6 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 29, 2:25 PM CDT, 6 hours 24 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
225 PM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT
MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE IS CONVECTION TONIGHT...THEN LINGERING
PRECIPITATION CHANCES THROUGH TUESDAY. 19Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED
AN ELONGATED AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
PLAINS. THE COLD FRONT WITH THIS LOW WAS SITUATED OVER THE MISSOURI
RIVER AND LOOKS TO SLOWLY TRACK EASTWARD TONIGHT. DECENT MOISTURE
HAS BEEN STREAMING NORTHWARD AHEAD OF THE FRONT TODAY...WITH
DEWPOINTS IN THE LOW TO MID 60S OVER THE ENTIRE CWA. 18Z SOUNDING
FROM ABR SHOWED IN EXCESS OF 3000 J/KG WITH NO CIN. INDICES ALL
INDICATING ENOUGH INSTABILITY FOR THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF
ROTATING SUPERCELLS. AN UPPER SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY OVER THE CENTRAL
ROCKIES WILL SWING NORTHEASTWARD AND WILL ALSO HELP TO ENHANCE THE
POSSIBILITY OF STORMS THIS EVENING. TORNADO WATCH CURRENTLY IN
EFFECT UNTIL 03Z FOR COUNTIES EAST OF THE FRONT...MAINLY FROM THE
RIVER EAST. THE FRONT LOOKS TO EXIT THE CWA AFTER MIDNIGHT...THEN
CONTINUES EASTWARD ON SUNDAY. LOW PRESSURE WILL INTENSIFY OVER SOUTH
CENTRAL CANADA...WHILE HIGH PRESSURE PUSHES OVER THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN PLAINS. THE UPPER TROUGH ELONGATES JUST NORTH OF THE REGION
AS WELL...WHICH LOOKS TO HELP IN KEEPING A CHANCE OF SOME WRAP
AROUND SHOWERS OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THE
UPPER AND SURFACE LOWS FINALLY GET PUSHED EAST BY HIGH PRESSURE
TRACKING ACROSS THE ROCKIES TUESDAY NIGHT...WHICH WILL BRING AN END
TO ANY LINGERING PRECIPITATION. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN COOL
THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD...EARLY ON DUE TO AN ABUNDANCE OF CLOUD COVER
AND POSSIBLE PRECIPITATION...THEN LATER IN THE PERIOD UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF THE SURFACE HIGH.

.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
STILL APPEARS TO BE A QUIET EXTENDED PERIOD SETTING UP...WITH BROAD
5H RIDGE TO OUR WEST AND DRY NW FLOW ALOFT. THERE ARE SOME MINOR
WAVES THAT ROUND THE TOP OF THE RIDGE...BUT NOTHING TO GET REALLY
EXCITED ABOUT.

06Z GFS ADVERTISES A WEAK 7H TROF PUSHING INTO WRN CWA AROUND 00Z
FRIDAY WITH SLIGHT RH INCREASE. 85H FLOW BECOMES MORE SOUTHERLY WITH
DEPARTING 85H HIGH MOVING TO EAST. BEST LOLVL JET APPEARS TO BE
DISPLACED FURTHER SOUTH HOWEVER. NO REAL LIFT NOTED AT 7H LEVEL
EITHER. 06Z GFS IS PLACING SOME LIGHT QPF IN RESPONSE TO THIS...BUT
THIS FAR OUT CANT ARGUE FOR GOING OVER CLIMO POPS...SO WILL JUST
LEAVE DRY ATTM.

AS RIDGE AMPLIFIES TO OUR WEST BY LATE IN EXTENDED...WARM FRONT GETS
NOSED UP INTO OUR REGION FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEKEND. 85H FLOW
BECOMES RATHER WEAK AND 7H LAYER SHOWS A DRYING TREND. AGREE THAT
WITH BOUNDARY DRAPED OVER THE REGION...SOMEWHERE...AND WEAK WAVES IN
NW FLOW A SLGT CHC/CHC OF TRW EXISTS FOR THE WEEKEND. FOR NOW...WILL
CONT TO LEAVE DRY FCST IN PLACE TO AVOID ANY MODEL FLIP-FLOPS.

TEMP WISE...GENERAL WARMING TREND NOTED...AND COVERED IN CURRENT
TEMP FORECAST. GENERALLY FOLLOWED GFS ENSEMBLE TEMPS AND ADJUSTED
WHERE NECESSARY.

&&

.ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...NONE.
MN...NONE.
&&

PARKIN/HINTZ

Hazardous weather outlook, May 29, 5:40 AM CDT, 15 hours 9 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
540 AM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-301030-
BIG STONE-BROWN-BUFFALO-CAMPBELL-CLARK-CODINGTON-CORSON-DAY-DEUEL-
DEWEY-EDMUNDS-FAULK-GRANT-HAMLIN-HAND-HUGHES-HYDE-JONES-LYMAN-
MARSHALL-MCPHERSON-POTTER-ROBERTS-SPINK-STANLEY-SULLY-TRAVERSE-
WALWORTH-

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL...NORTH
CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...AS WELL AS BIG STONE
AND TRAVERSE COUNTIES IN MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...
SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

MOHR

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 29, 4:49 PM CDT, 4 hours before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
449 PM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0405 PM     HAIL             HECLA                   45.88N 98.15W
05/29/2004  0.75 INCH        BROWN              SD   NWS EMPLOYEE

&&

AP

Local storm report, May 29, 5:18 PM CDT, 3 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
518 PM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0517 PM     HAIL             ABERDEEN                45.47N 98.48W
05/29/2004  0.88 INCH        BROWN              SD   PUBLIC

&&

AP

Local storm report, May 29, 8:41 PM CDT, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
841 PM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0610 PM     HAIL             3 S LAKE NORDEN         44.54N 97.21W
05/29/2004  0.75 INCH        KINGSBURY          SD   TRAINED SPOTTER

0620 PM     HAIL             CASTLEWOOD              44.72N 97.03W
05/29/2004  1.00 INCH        HAMLIN             SD   TRAINED SPOTTER

0606 PM     TORNADO          BATH                    45.47N 98.32W
05/29/2004  F0               BROWN              SD   EMERGENCY MNGR

0621 PM     TORNADO          1 E BATH                45.47N 98.30W
05/29/2004  F0               BROWN              SD   EMERGENCY MNGR

0633 PM     TORNADO          2 SW IPSWICH            45.42N 99.06W
05/29/2004  F0               EDMUNDS            SD   PUBLIC

            TORNADO REPORTED TO BE 200YDS WIDE

0646 PM     TORNADO          3 ENE IPSWICH           45.46N 98.97W
05/29/2004  F0               EDMUNDS            SD   AIRPLANE PILOT

            SECOND TORNADO ON GROUND...NUMEROUS REPORTS

0530 PM     FLASH FLOOD      2 N BATH                45.50N 98.32W
05/29/2004                   BROWN              SD   NWS EMPLOYEE

            NUMEROUS ROADS AND CROPLAND UNDERWATER. EMPLOYEE HAD TO
            TAKE EVASIVE ACTION TO AVOID RUSHING WATER.

0630 PM     TORNADO          RICHMOND LAKE REC AREA  45.54N 98.61W
05/29/2004  F0               BROWN              SD   PARK/FOREST SRVC

0650 PM     HAIL             1 S CRAVENS CORNER      45.43N 98.93W
05/29/2004  0.75 INCH        EDMUNDS            SD   PUBLIC

0730 PM     HAIL             LAKE CITY               45.72N 97.41W
05/29/2004  0.88 INCH        MARSHALL           SD   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0720 PM     HAIL             WEBSTER                 45.34N 97.52W
05/29/2004  0.75 INCH        DAY                SD   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0704 PM     HAIL             WATERTOWN               44.91N 97.17W
05/29/2004  0.75 INCH        CODINGTON          SD   EMERGENCY MNGR

0630 PM     HAIL             2 NE WESTPORT           45.67N 98.47W
05/29/2004  0.75 INCH        BROWN              SD   PUBLIC

&&

HINTZ

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 29, 7:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABR	Day	60 min
May 29, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABR	Grant, Roberts	57 min
May 29, 7:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABR	Marshall	33 min
May 29, 7:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABR	Codington	46 min
May 29, 7:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABR	Marshall	28 min
May 29, 8:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABR	Roberts	56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

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.