Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 35, NWS Twin Cities, MN

July 11, 2008Meeker County, Stearns County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at Jul 11, 2008, 6:40 PM CDT for Meeker County, Stearns County, Minnesota. It was in force for 65 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: Jul 11, 2008, 6:40 PM CDT (23:40 UTC)
Expired: Jul 11, 2008, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Meeker County, MN, Stearns County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:43 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 11, 2:26 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 71 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: 890 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -362 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1222 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 129 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 393 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KMPX 112340
TORMPX
MNC093-145-120045-
/O.NEW.KMPX.TO.W.0035.080711T2340Z-080712T0045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
640 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN STEARNS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA...
  EASTERN MEEKER COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 639 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 19
  MILES WEST OF LITCHFIELD...OR ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTH OF KANDIYOHI.
  RADAR SHOWED THE TORNADIC STORM MOVING NORTHEAST AT 44 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS INCLUDE...
  LITCHFIELD...
  DARWIN...
  DASSEL...
  WATKINS...
  KINGSTON...
  KIMBALL...
  ST AUGUSTA...

VERY LARGE HAIL IS ALSO LIKELY FROM THIS STORM.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4547 9411 4543 9406 4536 9411 4533 9412
      4533 9417 4533 9422 4531 9426 4505 9426
      4500 9455 4530 9458
TIME...MOT...LOC 2340Z 240DEG 38KT 4511 9491

$$

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS53 KMPX 120006
SVSMPX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
706 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008

MNC093-145-120045-
/O.CON.KMPX.TO.W.0035.000000T0000Z-080712T0045Z/
STEARNS MN-MEEKER MN-
706 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM CDT FOR EASTERN
MEEKER AND SOUTHEASTERN STEARNS COUNTIES...

AT 704 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH
STRONG ROTATION.  THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORM WAS LOCATED
ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ST AUGUSTA TO 8
MILES SOUTHWEST OF LITCHFIELD...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE ST AUGUSTA...WATKINS...
LITCHFIELD...KINGSTON...KIMBALL...DASSEL AND DARWIN.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON RADAR...IT MEANS THAT
STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY ALREADY
BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4547 9411 4543 9406 4536 9411 4533 9412
      4533 9417 4533 9422 4531 9426 4505 9426
      4500 9455 4530 9458
TIME...MOT...LOC 0006Z 240DEG 38KT 4542 9425 4503 9459

$$

000 
WWUS53 KMPX 120019
SVSMPX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
719 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008

MNC093-145-120045-
/O.CON.KMPX.TO.W.0035.000000T0000Z-080712T0045Z/
STEARNS MN-MEEKER MN-
719 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM CDT FOR EASTERN
MEEKER AND SOUTHEASTERN STEARNS COUNTIES...

AT 717 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH
STRONG ROTATION.  THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORM WAS LOCATED
ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF KINGSTON TO
DARWIN...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE ST AUGUSTA...WATKINS...
KINGSTON...KIMBALL...DASSEL AND DARWIN.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON RADAR...IT MEANS THAT
STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY ALREADY
BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4500 9455 4519 9450 4537 9439 4547 9411
      4543 9406 4533 9412 4533 9422 4531 9426
      4505 9426
TIME...MOT...LOC 0019Z 240DEG 38KT 4524 9431 4511 9438

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Twin Cities, MN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 10, 11:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Douglas	41 min
Jul 10, 11:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Pope, Stevens, Swift	55 min
Jul 10, 11:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Douglas, Morrison, Pope, Stearns, Todd	65 min
Jul 11, 12:16 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift	59 min
Jul 11, 12:52 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Kandiyohi, Meeker, Stearns	53 min
Jul 11, 1:06 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Renville, Swift, Yellow Medicine	54 min
Jul 11, 1:10 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison	65 min
Jul 11, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Todd	30 min
Jul 11, 5:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Pope, Swift	47 min
Jul 11, 5:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Todd	45 min
Jul 11, 5:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Morrison	46 min
Jul 11, 5:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Kandiyohi, Meeker, Stearns	57 min
Jul 11, 6:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Kandiyohi, Meeker	47 min
Jul 11, 6:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Kandiyohi, Meeker, Stearns	54 min
Jul 11, 6:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Redwood, Renville, Sibley	55 min
Jul 11, 6:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison	54 min
Jul 11, 6:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Renville	36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

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.