Alert archive / Minnesota / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 232
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2017, 2:53 PM CDT for 22 counties in Minnesota. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 2017, 2:53 PM CDT (19:53 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 2017, 8:40 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 22 counties
Blue Earth County, MN, Brown County, MN, Cottonwood County, MN, Dakota County, MN, Faribault County, MN, Freeborn County, MN, Goodhue County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Le Sueur County, MN, Martin County, MN, Murray County, MN, Nicollet County, MN, Nobles County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Redwood County, MN, Rice County, MN, Rock County, MN, Scott County, MN, Sibley County, MN, Steele County, MN, Waseca County, MN, Watonwan County, MN
The radar
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 127 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:56 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 SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Freeborn | 34 min |
| May 17, 3:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Freeborn, Steele | 24 min |
| May 17, 3:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Blue Earth, Faribault | 35 min |
| May 17, 3:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Steele | 30 min |
| May 17, 3:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Blue Earth | 33 min |
| May 17, 3:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Steele | 21 min |
| May 17, 4:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Rice, Steele | 30 min |
| May 17, 4:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet | 27 min |
| May 17, 4:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MPX | Blue Earth, Nicollet | 19 min |
| May 17, 5:01 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MPX | Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Nicollet | 119 min |
| May 17, 7:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Goodhue | 49 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 125 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 737 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 3 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -70 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
550 WWUS20 KWNS 171951 SEL2 SPC WW 171951 MNZ000-180300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 232 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 255 PM CDT Wed May 17 2017 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of southern Minnesota * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 255 PM until 1000 PM CDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...Strong/locally severe storms continue spreading northward out of IA into southern MN this afternoon, as the airmass continues to destabilize. Large hail and locally damaging winds will be possible, along with the potential for a couple of tornadoes with the strongest cells. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 35 statute miles north and south of a line from 65 miles west southwest of Redwood Falls MN to 45 miles east of Mankato MN. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 231... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 18035. ...Goss
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 8:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted and 2 more | 5 hr |
| May 16, 9:14 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Wabasha | 61 min |
| May 16, 11:48 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele and 2 more | 117 min |
| May 17, 12:23 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Houston, Winona | 97 min |
| May 17, 2:38 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston and 7 more | 97 min |
| May 17, 3:13 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Dodge, Fillmore, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha and 1 more | 9 hr |
| May 17, 6:05 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fillmore, Houston, Mower | 55 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 2017Every tornado watch in 2017
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.