Paul Douglas is a nationally respected meteorologist with 33 years of television and radio experience. A serial entrepreneur, Douglas is Senior Meteorologist for WeatherNation TV, a new, national 24/7 weather channel with studios in Denver and Minneapolis. Founder of Media Logic Group, Douglas and a team of meteorologists provide weather services for media at Broadcast Weather, and high-tech alerting and briefing services for companies via Alerts Broadcaster. His speaking engagements take him around the Midwest with a message of continuous experimentation and reinvention, no matter what business you’re in. He is the public face of “SAVE”, Suicide Awareness, Voices of Education, based in Bloomington. | Send Paul a question.
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Possible Tornado Near Willmar ("significant damage" reported in Ortonville and Big Stone Lake...new Severe Storm Watch for MSP metro)
Posted by: Paul Douglas Updated: June 17, 2012 - 8:29 PM
Squall Line. NWS Doppler at 8:26 pm shows strong to severe storms pushing across western Minnesota, 2.5"+ hail east of Ortonville - where there are reports of "significant damage". Severe storms are bubbling up over western and central Minnesota, individual (tornadic) storms this evening most likely over west central Minnesota, then merging into a broad sweep of strong/severe storms, a meso-convective system (MCS), capable of torrential rain, frequent lightning, small hail and straight-line wind damage. I don't expect tornadoes in the metro, but expect powerful storms after 9:30 or 10 pm, best chance of minor wind damage and flash flooding north/west of MSP. Latest warnings:
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEASTERN GRANT...
EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN ROBERTS AND SOUTHEASTERN BIG STONE COUNTIES
UNTIL 815 PM CDT...
AT 754 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS
LOCATED NEAR ODESSA...OR 8 MILES EAST OF ORTONVILLE...MOVING EAST AT
40 MPH.
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED ON BIG STONE LAKE AND IN THE
TOWN OR ORTONVILLE.
THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
CORRELL AROUND 805 PM CDT...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TO REPEAT...A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID
WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE
CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.
Why Residents Of Willmar Should Be In Their Basements (or Safe Rooms). NWS Doppler at 8:22 is detecting rotation with a fairly clearly defined "couplet". This cell has a history of dropping tornadoes and funnels. Time to head for safety!
Tornado Warning Willmar Area. Here's the latest NWS warning:
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
806 PM CDT SUN JUN 17 2012
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
NORTHEASTERN CHIPPEWA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...
CENTRAL KANDIYOHI COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA...
SOUTHEASTERN SWIFT COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...
* UNTIL 830 PM CDT
* AT 802 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED STRONG
ROTATION WITH A STORM 2 MILES SOUTH OF KERKHOVEN. IN ADDITION...A
TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD. RADAR SHOWED THE
SEVERE STORM MOVING EAS AT 30 MPH.
* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE...
WILLMAR...
KERKHOVEN...
SPICER...
KANDIYOHI...
NEW LONDON...
MURDOCK...
PENNOCK...
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THIS IS A SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM. IN ADDITION TO TORNADOES...
SUPERCELLS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING EXTREMELY LARGE HAIL AND
DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO SAFETY
INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM
ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.
Severe Storm Watch until 2 am. This new SPC watch does include the Twin Cities, Rochester and Eau Claire. The biggest concern: straight-line wind damage. The squall line pushing into central MN may "bow out", into a boomerang-shaped MCS system capable of violent straight-line winds as it accelerates eastward.
Significant Tornado Index (Effective Layer). Here is one of SPC's experimental products, a summary of where conditions are most ripe for tornadoes. The greatest risk: Willmar/Litchfield.
Forecast: 10 PM Tonight. Here is the HRRR model output for 10 pm this evening - hinting at an MCS system capable of straight-line winds.
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