Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 4, 2011Norman County, Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 4, 2011, 8:50 PM CDT for Norman County, Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 40 min. 2 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, 8:50 PM CDT (01:50 UTC)
Expired: Jul 4, 2011, 9:30 PM CDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Norman County, MN, Polk County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:51 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, 8:51 PM CDT	HAIL 1.25	4 Ene Shelly, MN	SEVERAL QUARTER TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL.
Jul 4, 8:55 PM CDT	HAIL 1.5	3 Ne Shelly, MN

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
Jul 4, 7:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 275 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: 1540 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1783 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 33 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

606 
WFUS53 KFGF 050150
TORFGF
MNC107-119-050230-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0023.110705T0150Z-110705T0230Z/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN NORMAN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...
  SOUTH CENTRAL POLK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 930 PM CDT

* AT 846 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 4 MILES EAST OF SHELLY...OR 34 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GRAND
  FORKS...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  LOCKHART AROUND 905 PM CDT.
  HADLER AROUND 910 PM CDT.
  ADA AROUND 915 PM CDT.
  FLAMING AROUND 930 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 4721 9640 4742 9687 4759 9678 4747 9624
TIME...MOT...LOC 0150Z 290DEG 24KT 4747 9670

$$

HOPPES

1 follow-up statement

164 
WWUS53 KFGF 050227
SVSFGF

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

MNC107-119-050237-
/O.EXP.KFGF.TO.W.0023.000000T0000Z-110705T0230Z/
NORMAN MN-POLK MN-
927 PM CDT MON JUL 4 2011

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL POLK AND WESTERN NORMAN
COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA WILL EXPIRE AT 930 PM CDT...

THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE
LIMITS...AND NO LONGER POSES AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO LIFE OR PROPERTY.

LAT...LON 4721 9640 4742 9687 4759 9678 4747 9624
TIME...MOT...LOC 0227Z 290DEG 24KT 4738 9636

$$

HOPPES

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 4, 7:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake	56 min
Jul 4, 7:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Beltrami, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods	48 min
Jul 4, 7:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Polk, Red Lake	50 min
Jul 4, 8:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Norman, Polk	58 min
Jul 4, 9:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Clay, Norman	63 min
Jul 4, 9:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Clay	39 min
Jul 4, 9:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Clay	65 min
Jul 4, 10:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Clay, Otter Tail, Wilkin	61 min
Jul 4, 11:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grant, Otter Tail, Wilkin	59 min
Jul 5, 12:40 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grant	26 min
Jul 5, 3:12 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	FGF	Grant, Otter Tail, Wilkin	9 hr
Jul 5, 4:06 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	FGF	Wilkin	8 hr
Jul 5, 4:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Wilkin	22 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 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.