Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Twin Cities, MN

May 16, 2015Swift County, Minnesota

NWS Twin Cities, MN issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2015, 6:11 PM CDT for Swift County, Minnesota. It was in force for 34 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 16, 2015, 6:11 PM CDT (23:11 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2015, 6:45 PM CDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Twin Cities, MN
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.0 in

County Swift County, MN

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
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.
May 16, 6:39 PM CDT	TORNADO	5 Wsw Sunburg, MN	STORM CHASER REPORTED TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN 5 MILES WSW OF SUNBURG.

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, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 148 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.

305 
WFUS53 KMPX 162311
TORMPX
MNC151-162345-
/O.NEW.KMPX.TO.W.0007.150516T2311Z-150516T2345Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
611 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 645 PM CDT
    
* AT 610 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED OVER DE GRAFF...OR 20 MILES WEST OF WILLMAR...
  MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO AND QUARTER SIZE HAIL. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

  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 TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF
  EASTERN SWIFT COUNTY...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...DE
  GRAFF.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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 4516 9537 4516 9552 4537 9549 4535 9526
TIME...MOT...LOC 2310Z 199DEG 25KT 4523 9544 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...1.00IN

$$

CLF

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, 5:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Tornado observed	MPX	Swift	36 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, 6:21 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.