Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 20, 2005Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2005, 4:53 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 58 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 20, 2005, 4:53 PM CDT (21:53 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2005, 5:51 PM CDT
In force: 58 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Polk County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:54 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 nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 273 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 563 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 126 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 151 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 
WFUS53 KFGF 202153
TORFGF
MNC119-202300-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0008.050520T2153Z-050520T2300Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
453 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL POLK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 449 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 4 MILES EAST OF REYNOLDS...OR 17
  MILES SOUTH OF GRAND FORKS...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF 60-80MPH WINDS AND QUARTER 
SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN REYNOLDS NORTH DAKOTA IN THE PAST 15 MINUTES.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ELDRED...6 MILES NORTH OF CLIMAX AND 7 MILES SOUTH OF FISHER AT 505
  PM
  CROOKSTON AND 6 MILES NORTH OF GREENVIEW AT 520 PM

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4780 9693 4752 9681 4754 9644 4793 9664

$$
DK

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202221
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
521 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

MNC119-202300-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0008.000000T0000Z-050520T2300Z/
POLK MN-
521 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL POLK
COUNTY...

AT 519 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION.  THE TORNADO WAS LOCATED 5 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF CROOKSTON...OR 21 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GRAND FORKS...
MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  HAROLD BY 530 PM CDT...

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4780 9693 4752 9681 4754 9639 4797 9655

$$
GV

000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202251
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
551 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

MNC119-202301-
/O.CAN.KFGF.TO.W.0008.000000T0000Z-050520T2300Z/
POLK MN-
551 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL POLK COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

AT 546 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM LOCATED 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DELORME...OR 27 MILES SOUTH
OF THIEF RIVER FALLS...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORM HAS WEAKENED AND WAS NO LONGER CONSIDERED SEVERE. SO
THE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. 

LAT...LON 4780 9693 4752 9681 4754 9639 4797 9655

$$
GV

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2005 Every tornado warning in 2005 Tornadoes in 2005

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.