Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 4, 2012Faribault County, Freeborn County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 4, 2012, 5:52 PM CDT for Faribault County, Freeborn County, Minnesota. It was in force for 23 min. 3 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 4, 2012, 5:52 PM CDT (22:52 UTC)
Expired: May 4, 2012, 6:15 PM CDT
In force: 23 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Faribault County, MN, Freeborn County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:54 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 4, 5:53 PM CDT	TORNADO	2 S Kiester, MN
May 4, 6:02 PM CDT	TORNADO	1 Nw Kiester, MN	TREES DAMAGED FROM THE TORNADO.
May 4, 6:10 PM CDT	TSTM WND GST 65	4 N Emmons, 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
May 4, 2:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 139 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: 1101 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 15 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.

246 
WFUS53 KMPX 042252
TORMPX
MNC043-047-042315-
/O.NEW.KMPX.TO.W.0024.120504T2252Z-120504T2315Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
552 PM CDT FRI MAY 4 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN FARIBAULT COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...
  WESTERN FREEBORN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 615 PM CDT

* AT 549 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 4 MILES
  WEST OF KIESTER...OR ABOUT OVER BRICELYN. RADAR SHOWED THE TORNADIC
  STORM MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...
  KIESTER...
  CONGER...
  ALDEN...
  EMMONS...
  TWIN LAKES...
  WALTERS...
  MANSFIELD...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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.

&&

LAT...LON 4365 9387 4377 9349 4352 9338 4349 9360
      4350 9378
TIME...MOT...LOC 2252Z 249DEG 18KT 4356 9377

$$

1 follow-up statement

615 
WWUS53 KMPX 042308
SVSMPX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
608 PM CDT FRI MAY 4 2012

MNC043-047-042315-
/O.CON.KMPX.TO.W.0024.000000T0000Z-120504T2315Z/
FARIBAULT MN-FREEBORN MN-
608 PM CDT FRI MAY 4 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN FREEBORN AND
SOUTHEASTERN FARIBAULT COUNTIES UNTIL 615 PM CDT...

AT 603 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR 
KIESTER....WITH SOME TREE DAMAGE ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE CITY.


LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  CONGER...ALDEN...TWIN LAKES...WALTERS AND MANSFIELD.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY HIDE THIS TORNADO. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE
TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

LAT...LON 4365 9387 4377 9349 4352 9338 4349 9360
      4350 9378
TIME...MOT...LOC 2307Z 249DEG 18KT 4358 9367

$$

BAP

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 7:00 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Goodhue	30 min
May 4, 2:07 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Redwood	38 min
May 4, 2:33 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Blue Earth, Martin, Watonwan	57 min
May 4, 3:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Martin	35 min
May 4, 3:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Martin	50 min
May 4, 4:07 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Blue Earth, Waseca, Watonwan	38 min
May 4, 4:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Faribault, Martin	38 min
May 4, 4:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Martin	13 min
May 4, 5:00 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Faribault	45 min
May 4, 5:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Faribault, Freeborn	49 min
May 4, 6:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Freeborn	45 min
May 4, 6:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Freeborn	24 min
May 4, 6:24 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	MPX	Blue Earth, Faribault, Martin, Watonwan	3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes in 2012

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.