Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 3, 1986Traill County, North Dakota; Polk County, Minnesota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1986, 9:43 PM CDT for Traill County, North Dakota; Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 3, 1986, 9:43 PM CDT (02:43 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 1986, 10:30 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Polk County, MN, Traill County, ND

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 280 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 1986-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 1986-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 83 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1754 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
127 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.

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 040243
TORFAR
NDC097-MNC119-040330-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
943 PM CDT THU JUL 3 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...TRAILL
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...POLK

AT 935 PM CDT FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE REPORTED BY THE HIGHWAY
PATROL 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF CROOKSTON IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND
ALSO JUST EAST OF TOWN OF BUXTON IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA.

THIS WARNING INCLUDES THE TOWNS OF MAYVILLE/PORTLAND..HILLSBORO...
AND CLIMAX.

THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING..LARGE HAIL..AND
DANGEROUS STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

IF A TORNADO IS APPROACHING GET INTO A BASEMENT...IF NO BASEMENT
IS AVAILABLE...GET INTO THE INNERMOST HALLWAY...STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.  IF CAUGHT OUTSIDE GET INTO A DITCH...GULLY...RAVINE...OR
EVEN A LOW LYING SPOT ON THE GROUND.  PROTECT YOUR HEAD.  ABANDON
CARS AND MOBILE HOMES.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY.

DM/MB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 3, 8:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs, Nelson51 min
Jul 3, 9:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes, Griggs59 min
Jul 3, 9:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes64 min
Jul 3, 10:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass, Traill62 min
Jul 3, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland64 min
Jul 4, 12:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFOtter Tail52 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1986Tornado Warnings in Minnesota, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.