Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2013

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 26, 2013Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 26, 2013, 6:59 PM CDT for Otter Tail County, Wadena County, Minnesota. It was in force for 46 min. 13 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: Aug 26, 2013, 6:59 PM CDT (23:59 UTC)
Expired: Aug 26, 2013, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.25 in

Counties Otter Tail County, MN, Wadena County, MN

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 192 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:01 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 26, 7:02 PM CDT	HAIL 0.75	3 S Vergas, MN
Aug 26, 7:28 PM CDT	HAIL 1	Perham, MN	PEA TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL WITH WINDS ESTIMATED OVER 50 MPH.
Aug 26, 7:30 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	Perham, MN	AT LEAST ONE LARGE PINE TREE WAS SNAPPED AND SEVERAL LARGE TREE BRANCHES WERE BROKEN DOWN. PEAK WINDS ESTIMATED TO 70 MPH.
Aug 26, 7:43 PM CDT	HAIL 1.5	1 N New York Mills, MN
Aug 26, 7:45 PM CDT	HAIL 1.5	New York Mills, MN
Aug 26, 7:45 PM CDT	HAIL 2.5	2 Ese New York Mills, MN	HAIL UP TO 2 TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND 1.31 INCHES OF RAIN.
Aug 26, 7:45 PM CDT	HAIL 2.5	New York Mills, MN	HAIL UP TO 2 TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER AND 1.31 INCHES OF RAIN.
Aug 26, 7:45 PM CDT	HAIL 3	New York Mills, MN	SEVERAL PHOTOS FROM MEDIA OF HAIL LARGER THAN BASEBALL SIZE.
Aug 26, 7:45 PM CDT	HAIL 3.75	New York Mills, MN	SEVERAL PHOTOS FROM MEDIA OF HAIL LARGER THAN BASEBALL SIZE.
Aug 26, 7:47 PM CDT	HAIL 3	New York Mills, MN	VARIOUS MEDIA SOURCES POSTED REPORTS AND PHOTOS OF HAIL LARGER THAN BASEBALL SIZE.
Aug 26, 7:50 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	2 E New York Mills, MN	A PERSISTANT WALL CLOUD WAS OBSERVED TRAVELING PARALLEL TO HIGHWAY 10 FROM PERHAM INTO NEW YORK MILLS. A BRIEF FUNNEL WAS OBSERVED JUST TO THE EAST OF NEW YORK MILLS BEFORE HEAVY RAINS OBSCURRED THE OBSERVERS VIEW.
Aug 26, 7:51 PM CDT	HAIL 1.25	New York Mills, MN	QUARTER TO HALF DOLLAR-SIZED HAIL. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ALSO REPORTED JUST NORTHWEST OF NEW YORK MILLS.
Aug 26, 7:54 PM CDT	HAIL 1.75	Bluffton, MN	RELAYED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.

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
Aug 26, 5:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 224 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: 1878 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -170 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 981 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 292 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 278 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

846 
WFUS53 KFGF 262359
TORFGF
MNC111-159-270045-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0013.130826T2359Z-130827T0045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
659 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN OTTER TAIL COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...
  SOUTHWESTERN WADENA COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 656 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR BIG MCDONALD LAKE...AND MOVING EAST AT 30
  MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO AND HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL.

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION.

  IMPACT...SPORADIC DAMAGE TO MOBILE HOMES...ROOFS AND VEHICLES.

* THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BIG MCDONALD LAKE AND DENT AROUND 705 PM CDT.
  RICHVILLE AROUND 715 PM CDT.
  PERHAM AROUND 720 PM CDT.
  NEW YORK MILLS AROUND 740 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
THEY WILL SEND YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND
FORKS.

&&

LAT...LON 4638 9497 4638 9515 4630 9516 4632 9558
      4650 9602 4671 9593 4669 9497
TIME...MOT...LOC 2359Z 272DEG 27KT 4658 9581

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...1.25IN

$$

DK

1 follow-up statement

761 
WWUS53 KFGF 270020
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
720 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013

MNC111-159-270045-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0013.000000T0000Z-130827T0045Z/
WADENA MN-OTTER TAIL MN-
720 PM CDT MON AUG 26 2013

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEASTERN OTTER TAIL
AND SOUTHWESTERN WADENA COUNTIES UNTIL 745 PM CDT...

AT 715 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO
WAS LOCATED NEAR RICHVILLE...AND MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

HAZARD...TORNADO AND HALF DOLLAR SIZE HAIL.

SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION.

IMPACT...SPORADIC DAMAGE TO MOBILE HOMES...ROOFS AND VEHICLES.

THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  NEW YORK MILLS AROUND 740 PM CDT.
  BLUFFTON AROUND 745 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
THEY WILL SEND YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND
FORKS.

&&

LAT...LON 4638 9497 4638 9515 4630 9516 4632 9558
      4643 9585 4671 9574 4669 9497
TIME...MOT...LOC 0019Z 284DEG 26KT 4654 9558

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...1.25IN

$$

HOPPES/HOPKINS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 25, 7:57 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	FGF	Beltrami	63 min
Aug 25, 8:01 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	FGF	Hubbard	4 hr
Aug 26, 3:58 AM CDT	Heat Advisory	FGF	Grant, Otter Tail, Wadena, Wilkin	15 hr
Aug 26, 5:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, Wilkin	65 min
Aug 26, 6:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Becker, Clay, Otter Tail	37 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2013 Every tornado warning in 2013 Tornadoes in 2013

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.