Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 83, NWS Bismarck, ND

July 27, 1986Billings County, Golden Valley County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 27, 1986, 8:23 PM MDT for Billings County, Golden Valley County, North Dakota. It was in force for 37 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 27, 1986, 8:23 PM MDT (02:23 UTC)
Expired
Jul 27, 1986, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Billings County, ND, Golden Valley County, ND

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 27, 8:25 PM MDTHail 0.75Golden Valley, ND

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 223 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1986-07-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 821 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1986-07-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
821 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1441 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
83 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 27, 5:05 PM MDT, 3 hours 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
600 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 1986

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA
UNTIL 9 PM CDT OR 8 PM MDT...

AT 6 PM CDT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA.
THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR HETTINGER IN THE SOUTHWEST
CORNER OF THE STATE..OR ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTH OF DICKINSON. THIS STORM
WAS MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST AND PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN. ANOTHER THUNDER-
STORM WAS LOCATED IN BOWMAN COUNTY IN THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST CORNER OF
THE STATE. OTHER ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE THE NORTHWEST PART
OF THE STATE..NORTHEAST OF WILLISTON IN BURKE COUNTY. ALL OF THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST.

CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER DEVELOPMENT ACROSS
WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA TONIGHT. PERSONS LIVING IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA
SHOULD KEEP ALERT FOR WEATHER ACTIVITY AND REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER
TO THEIR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
KAS
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 5:05 PM MDT, 3 hours 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
605 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 1986

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 9 PM
CDT...

AT 600 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP IN EASTERN MONTANA
AND WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA.  THE MOST INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN
EAST CENTRAL BURKE COUNTY ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF COLUMBUS NORTH
DAKOTA..OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN NORTHERN GOLDEN
VALLEY COUNTY AND SOUTHERN MCKENZIE COUNTY JUST WEST OF GRASSY BUTTE
NORTH DAKOTA.

MOVEMENT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WAS EAST AT 20 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DEVELOPING ACROSS THE WESTERN
PART OF NORTH DAKOTA TONIGHT AND CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SOME TO
BECOME SEVERE.
NIELSEN
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 6:25 PM MDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
725 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 1986

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA
UNTIL 9 PM CDT OR 8 PM MDT...

AT 720 PM CDT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
AND WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS IN BURKE COUNTY
IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE HARVEY
AREA IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND IN WESTERN GRANT COUNTY..SOUTHWEST OF
BISMARCK. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MILES AN
HOUR AND COULD BE PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AS WELL AS DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

PERSONS IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE
LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS. CONDITIONS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR THUNDER-
STORM DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH DAKOTA TONIGHT.
KAS
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 7:39 PM MDT, 44 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 27, 7:56 PM MDT, 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
855 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 1986

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WESTERN
NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 2 AM CDT...

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING. AT
850 PM CDT INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN WELLS COUNTY IN CENTRAL
NORTH DAKOTA..LAGAN AND MCINTOSH COUNTIES IN SOUTHCENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA..
AND IN WESTERN BOTTINEAU COUNTY IN NORTHCENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. THESE
STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR AND PRODUCING HEAVY
RAIN.

A NORTH TO SOUTH LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN MONTANA WILL BE
MOVING INTO NORTH DAKOTA BEFORE 10 PM CDT OR 9 PM MDT.

CONDITIONS <ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER.
PERSONS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND
BE PREPARED FOR SEVERE WEATHER.
KAS
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 8:02 PM MDT, 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
900 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NORTH
DAKOTA UNTIL 2 AM CDT..REPLACING THE TORNADO WATCH...

AT 900 PM CDT AN AREA OF OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED ALONG
THE NORTH DAKOTA-MONTANA BORDER FROM ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF
WILLISTON TO JUST SOUTH OF SIDNEY MONTANA.  REPORTS OF WIND GUSTS
OF 40 TO 50 MILES AN HOUR WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE REPORTED IN THE
SIDNEY AREA.  MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES
AN HOUR AND SHOULD MOVE INTO THE WILLISTON AREA WITHIN THE NEXT HALF
HOUR.

GUSTY WINDS..VERY HEAVY RAIN..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL CAN
BEB EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
NIELSEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 27, 6:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurke27 min
Jul 27, 6:40 PM MDTTornado WarningBISWells35 min
Jul 27, 9:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBillings, Dunn, McKenzie66 min
Jul 27, 9:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurke, Divide64 min
Jul 27, 10:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau27 min
Jul 27, 11:09 PM MDTTornado WarningBISWard21 min
Jul 27, 11:28 PM MDTTornado WarningBISWard32 min
Jul 28, 5:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISEmmons49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.