Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 30, 2011Polk County, Minnesota; Grand Forks County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at May 30, 2011, 8:58 PM CDT for Polk County, Minnesota; Grand Forks County, North Dakota. It was in force for 47 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
May 30, 2011, 8:58 PM CDT (01:58 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 2011, 9:45 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Polk County, MN, Grand Forks County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:01 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 30, 9:30 PM CDTFUNNEL CLOUD6 S Grand Forks, NDROTATION SPOTTED 6 MILES SOUTH OF GRAND FORKS
May 30, 9:32 PM CDTHAIL 0.75Grand Forks, NDPENNY-SIZED HAIL IN SOUTH GRAND FORKS

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 30, 3:52 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr
May 30, 8:43 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 288 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2011-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 2011-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 657 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
443 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
657 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
727 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

890 
WFUS53 KFGF 310158
TORFGF
MNC119-NDC035-310245-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0009.110531T0158Z-110531T0245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
858 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN POLK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...
  EASTERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 945 PM CDT

* AT 856 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 4 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF THOMPSON...OR 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS. A
  TORNADO MAY DEVELOP AT ANY TIME. RADAR SHOWED THE STORM WAS MOVING
  TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BYGLAND AROUND 905 PM CDT.
  GRAND FORKS AND MALLORY AROUND 910 PM CDT.
  EAST GRAND FORKS AROUND 915 PM CDT.
  MANVEL AROUND 925 PM CDT.

THEREAFTER SOME OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THE STORM INCLUDE TABOR.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 29...THE STORM WILL BE BETWEEN...MILE
MARKER 133 AROUND 900 PM CDT...AND MILE MARKER 144 AROUND 915 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 4815 9716 4815 9671 4770 9701 4771 9736
TIME...MOT...LOC 0158Z 207DEG 27KT 4783 9713

$$

HOPKINS
1 follow-up statement
499 
WWUS53 KFGF 310214
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
914 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011

MNC119-NDC035-310245-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-110531T0245Z/
GRAND FORKS ND-POLK MN-
914 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWESTERN POLK COUNTY
IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...AND EASTERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 945 PM CDT...

AT 910 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD OVER GRAND
FORKS...MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

THE DEVELOPING TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  MANVEL AROUND 925 PM CDT.
  TABOR AROUND 940 PM CDT.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 29...THE DEVELOPING TORNADO WILL BE
BETWEEN...MILE MARKERS 141 AND 143 AROUND 915 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 4815 9716 4815 9671 4770 9701 4771 9736
TIME...MOT...LOC 0214Z 207DEG 27KT 4794 9705

$$

HOPKINS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 8:47 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFClay43 min
May 30, 9:06 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFPolk39 min
May 30, 9:12 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFGrant48 min
May 30, 9:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Clay, Norman38 min
May 30, 9:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPennington, Polk, Red Lake65 min
May 30, 9:43 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFPolk47 min
May 30, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman, Polk27 min
May 30, 9:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFKittson25 min
May 30, 10:12 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFGrant9 hr
May 30, 10:20 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryFGFPolk8 hr
May 30, 10:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Otter Tail and 2 more54 min
May 30, 10:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBeltrami, Clearwater, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington and 3 more57 min
May 30, 11:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBeltrami29 min
May 31, 3:44 AM CDTWind AdvisoryFGFBecker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Grant, Hubbard and 11 more19 hr
May 30, 7:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom, Richland, Sargent63 min
May 30, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom, Sargent24 min
May 30, 8:34 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFRichland26 min
May 31, 6:12 PM CDTHigh Wind WarningFGFBarnes, Benson, Cavalier, Eddy, Griggs, Nelson and 4 more3 hr

Nearby

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