Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 4, 2011Kittson County, Minnesota; Pembina County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 4, 2011, 4:51 PM CDT for Kittson County, Minnesota; Pembina County, North Dakota. It was in force for 39 min. 5 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jul 4, 2011, 4:51 PM CDT (21:51 UTC)
Expired: Jul 4, 2011, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 39 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Kittson County, MN, Pembina County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 156 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:51 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 4, 4:55 PM CDT	HAIL 1	Pembina, ND
Jul 4, 5:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	Pembina, ND	TREE BRANCHES OF AT LEAST 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER ARE DOWN.
Jul 4, 5:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND GST 60	Pembina, ND
Jul 4, 5:07 PM CDT	TSTM WND GST 67	2 N St. Vincent, MN	REPORTED BY CANADIAN METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.
Jul 4, 5:34 PM CDT	HAIL 1	Orleans, MN	NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

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 4, 3:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 281 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: 392 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -118 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1095 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 218 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

691 
WFUS53 KFGF 042151
TORFGF
MNC069-NDC067-042230-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0021.110704T2151Z-110704T2230Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
451 PM CDT MON JUL 4 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN KITTSON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...
  NORTHEASTERN PEMBINA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 446 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF BATHGATE...OR 36 MILES NORTH OF
  GRAFTON...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  JOLIETTE AROUND 500 PM CDT.
  HUMBOLDT AROUND 510 PM CDT.
  ORLEANS AND NORTHCOTE AROUND 520 PM CDT.
  HALLOCK AROUND 525 PM CDT.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 29...THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE
BETWEEN...MILE MARKER 214 AROUND 455 PM CDT...AND MILE MARKER 207
AROUND 500 PM CDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4900 9686 4867 9683 4885 9752 4901 9743
      4901 9705
TIME...MOT...LOC 2151Z 290DEG 28KT 4892 9732

$$

HOPKINS

1 follow-up statement

042 
WWUS53 KFGF 042216
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
516 PM CDT MON JUL 4 2011

MNC069-NDC067-042230-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0021.000000T0000Z-110704T2230Z/
KITTSON MN-PEMBINA ND-
516 PM CDT MON JUL 4 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWESTERN KITTSON
COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...AND NORTHEASTERN PEMBINA COUNTY IN
NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 530 PM CDT...

AT 509 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES WEST OF
HUMBOLDT...OR 37 MILES NORTH OF GRAFTON...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30
MPH.

IN ADDITION...AT 510 PM CDT, 58 KNOT WINDS AND GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL 
WAS REPORTED NEAR PEMBINA AND NOYES WITH THIS STORM.

THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ORLEANS AND NORTHCOTE AROUND 525 PM CDT.
  HALLOCK AROUND 530 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4883 9740 4900 9740 4901 9705 4900 9686
      4867 9683
TIME...MOT...LOC 2214Z 290DEG 28KT 4892 9710

$$

HOPKINS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 4, 4:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson	52 min
Jul 4, 5:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Roseau	55 min
Jul 4, 5:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson	61 min
Jul 4, 5:31 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	FGF	Kittson	13 hr
Jul 4, 6:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Roseau	61 min
Jul 4, 6:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Kittson, Marshall, Roseau	59 min
Jul 4, 6:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake	65 min
Jul 4, 6:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Roseau	63 min
Jul 4, 3:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cavalier, Towner	65 min
Jul 4, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cavalier, Ramsey, Towner	67 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2011 Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 2011 Every tornado warning in 2011 Tornadoes in 2011

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.