Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 16, 2015Swift County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2015, 5:39 PM CDT for Swift County, Minnesota. It was in force for 36 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 16, 2015, 5:39 PM CDT (22:39 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2015, 6:15 PM CDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Observed
Hail: 0.75 in

County Swift County, MN

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 16, 5:51 PM CDT	TORNADO	3 Wsw Murdock, MN	TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED MULTI-VORTEX TORNADO 3 MILES WSW OF MURDOCK.
May 16, 5:51 PM CDT	TORNADO	5 Sw De Graff, MN	LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTS DAMAGE FROM TORNADO 5 MILES SW OF DE GRAFF. WINDOWS BLOWN OUT...SMALL BUILDING DOWN...POWER LINE DOWN...PARTIAL ROOF DAMAGE TO ANOTHER BUILDING. ALSO SCATTERED REPORTS TREES DOWN IN PARTS OF EASTERN SWIFT COUNTY.
May 16, 6:25 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	De Graff, MN	ROPE FUNNEL CLOUD CAME DOWN BRIEFLY BUT DID NOT TOUCH THE GROUND. REPORTED BY TRAINED SPOTTER BETWEEN MURDOCK AND BENSON LOCATED NEAR 120TH AVE S AND 20TH ST. SE.

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 16, 5:25 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 156 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: 853 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 166 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.

881 
WFUS53 KMPX 162239
TORMPX
MNC151-162315-
/O.NEW.KMPX.TO.W.0005.150516T2239Z-150516T2315Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
539 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN SWIFT COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 615 PM CDT

* AT 538 PM CDT...A CONFIRMED TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR DE GRAFF...OR
  20 MILES NORTHEAST OF MONTEVIDEO...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

  HAZARD...DAMAGING TORNADO. 

  SOURCE...WEATHER SPOTTERS CONFIRMED TORNADO. 

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE 
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  BENSON AROUND 600 PM CDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE DE
GRAFF.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPEAT...A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A
BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY
BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...IN A MOBILE HOME...OR
IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4517 9545 4518 9562 4537 9562 4537 9539
TIME...MOT...LOC 2238Z 184DEG 16KT 4521 9554 

TORNADO...OBSERVED
HAIL...<.75IN

$$

2 follow-up statements

395 
WWUS53 KMPX 162250
SVSMPX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
550 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2015

MNC151-162315-
/O.CON.KMPX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-150516T2315Z/
SWIFT MN-
550 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2015

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM CDT FOR
NORTHEASTERN SWIFT COUNTY...
    
AT 550 PM CDT...A CONFIRMED TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR DE GRAFF...OR 24
MILES NORTH OF MONTEVIDEO...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

HAZARD...DAMAGING TORNADO. 

SOURCE...WEATHER SPOTTERS CONFIRMED TORNADO. 

IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
         SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. DAMAGE 
         TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE DAMAGE IS 
         LIKELY. 

THIS TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  BENSON AROUND 555 PM CDT.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE DE
GRAFF.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPEAT...A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A
BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY
BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...IN A MOBILE HOME...OR
IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4525 9544 4525 9561 4537 9562 4537 9539
TIME...MOT...LOC 2250Z 183DEG 17KT 4528 9554 

TORNADO...OBSERVED
HAIL...<.75IN

$$

047 
WWUS53 KMPX 162309
SVSMPX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
609 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2015

MNC151-162318-
/O.EXP.KMPX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-150516T2315Z/
SWIFT MN-
609 PM CDT SAT MAY 16 2015

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN SWIFT COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT
615 PM CDT...
        
THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS MOVED OUT OF THE AREA.
THEREFORE THE WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WARNING STILL REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN 
PORTIONS OF SWIFT COUNTY.

LAT...LON 4525 9544 4525 9561 4537 9562 4537 9539
TIME...MOT...LOC 2306Z 184DEG 16KT 4528 9554 

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 12:07 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Kandiyohi	38 min
May 16, 3:58 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Yellow Medicine	32 min
May 16, 4:01 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Chippewa	29 min
May 16, 4:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Yellow Medicine	44 min
May 16, 4:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Lac qui Parle	16 min
May 16, 4:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Lac qui Parle	31 min
May 16, 5:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Swift	25 min
May 16, 5:12 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Stevens	33 min
May 16, 5:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa	25 min
May 16, 5:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MPX	Chippewa, Swift	17 min
May 16, 5:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Tornado observed	MPX	Chippewa, Swift	23 min
May 16, 6:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Swift	34 min
May 16, 6:21 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Renville	39 min
May 16, 6:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MPX	Pope, Swift	34 min
May 16, 6:54 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	MPX	Meeker	36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 2015 Every tornado warning in 2015 Tornadoes in 2015

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.