Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 25, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 4, 2012Freeborn County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 4, 2012, 6:21 PM CDT for Freeborn County, Minnesota. It was in force for 24 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
May 4, 2012, 6:21 PM CDT (23:21 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 2012, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Freeborn County, MN

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:21 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 4, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 129 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2012-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2012-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -52 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
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.

431 
WFUS53 KMPX 042321
TORMPX
MNC047-042345-
/O.NEW.KMPX.TO.W.0025.120504T2321Z-120504T2345Z/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN FREEBORN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 645 PM CDT

* AT 617 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO. THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORM WAS NEAR ALDEN...OR
  OVER ALDEN...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...
  CONGER...
  ALDEN...
  FREEBORN...
  MANCHESTER...
  CLARKS GROVE...
  MANSFIELD...
  HARTLAND...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS STORM PRODUCED A TORNADO NEAR KIESTER AT 603 PM.

&&

LAT...LON 4354 9360 4358 9365 4385 9364 4385 9330
      4377 9320
TIME...MOT...LOC 2321Z 227DEG 20KT 4367 9358

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 7:00 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMPXGoodhue30 min
May 4, 2:07 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMPXRedwood38 min
May 4, 2:33 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMPXBlue Earth, Martin, Watonwan57 min
May 4, 3:10 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXMartin35 min
May 4, 3:40 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXMartin50 min
May 4, 4:07 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMPXBlue Earth, Waseca, Watonwan38 min
May 4, 4:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFaribault, Martin38 min
May 4, 4:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXMartin13 min
May 4, 5:00 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementMPXFaribault45 min
May 4, 5:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFaribault, Freeborn49 min
May 4, 5:52 PM CDTTornado WarningMPXFaribault, Freeborn23 min
May 4, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMPXFreeborn45 min
May 4, 6:24 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryMPXBlue Earth, Faribault, Martin, Watonwan3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2012Every tornado warning in 2012Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.