Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 16, 1987, 7:02 PM MDT for Mercer County, North Dakota. It was in force for 58 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
- Jun 16, 1987, 7:02 PM MDT (01:02 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 16, 1987, 8:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 58 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Mercer 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 7:53 PM MDT | Thunderstorm Wind 68 | Mercer, 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, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 105 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
- 2241 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -67 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2129 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 22 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 57 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBIS 170103 SVRBIS NDC055-057-101-170200- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 802 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...CENTRAL MCLEAN...NORTHERN MERCER AND SOUTHERN WARD AT 8 PM CDT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE DETECTED ON WEATHER RADAR IN NORTHWEST MERCER COUNTY...45 MILES NORTHEAST OF DICKINSON NORTH DAKOTA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA THREATENED BY THE STORM..GO TO A REINFORECED SHELTER AND PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...AND HEAVY RAIN. < REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE A TORNADO WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH OR HAIL 3/4 OF AN INCH OR LARGER. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. REMEMBER THAT LIGHTNING IS A THUNDERSTORMS MOST DEADLY WEAPON. REPORT ALL SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AFTER THE STORM PASSES. 0103Z/RJR
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, Jun 16, 3:49 PM MDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 450 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 1987 ...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA... AT 440 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR DETECTED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA INTO NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN DUNN COUNTY OF NORTH DAKOTA 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF DICKINSON. HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THE PASSAGE OF THIS STORM. THE AIR REMAINS VERY UNSTABLE OVER NORTH DAKOTA AND ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY BECOME SEVERE ARE LIKELY OVER THE WEST AND CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE THIS EVENING.
Special weather statement, Jun 16, 5:02 PM MDT, 2 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 600 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 1987 ...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING OVER SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA... AT 550 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO DETECTED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA INTO NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN WESTERN BOWMAN COUNTY...60 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DICKINSON. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. THE AIR REMAINS VERY UNSTABLE OVER NORTH DAKOTA AND ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF WHICH MAY BECOME SEVERE ARE LIKELY OVER THE WESTB AND CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE THIS EVENING.
Special weather statement, Jun 16, 5:58 PM MDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 700 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 1987 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT... AT 650 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO DETECTED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA INTO NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EASTERN SLOPE COUNTY...25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DICKINSON. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. AT 635 PM CDT AMIDON NORTH DAKOTA...30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DICKINSON REPORTED PEA SIZE HAIL...HEAVY RAIN AND 50 MILE AN HOUR WINDS
Special weather statement, Jun 16, 6:46 PM MDT, 16 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 745 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 1987 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT... AT 740 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR DETECTED NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA INTO NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EASTERN STARK COUNTY...15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DICKINSON. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. AT 720 PM CDT BEACH NORTH DAKOTA...50 MILES WEST OF DICKINSON REPORTED WINDS TO 40 MILES AN HOUR AND HEAVY RAIN. AT 735 PM CDT MOTT NORTH DAKOTA...30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DICKINSON REPORTED 50 MPH WINDS.
Local storm report, Jun 16, 7:00 PM MDT, 2 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 800 PM CDT TUES JUN 16 1987 635 PM CDT AMIDON IN SLOPE CO - PEA SIZE HAIL AND 45 TO 50 MPH WIND. 715 PM DICKINSON FSS REPORTS 71 MPH WIND GUST.
Special weather statement, Jun 16, 7:00 PM MDT, 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 758 PM CDT TUE JUN 16 1987 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 725 PM MDT FOR DUNN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA... AT 750 PM CDT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 30 MILES NORTH OF DICKINSEN NORTH DAKOTA. 71 M.PH. WINDS WERE REPORTED AT DICKINSEN BY FLIGHT SERVICE PERSONNEL. A BROAD AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS COVERS MOST OF BILLINGS AND GOLDEN VALLEY COUNTIES IN WEST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS WAS TO THE NORTH AT 25 MPH. AT 735 PM CDT 54 M.P.H. WINDS WERE REPORTED AT BEACH IN GOLDEN VALLEY COUNTY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ENTERNING SOUTHERN MCKENZIE AND DUNN COUNTIES. PERSONS IN THESE COUNTIES SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER. BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS. ALSO... DO NOT OVERLOOK THE THREAT OF LIGHTNING.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Bismarck, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 6:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Stark | 61 min |
| Jun 16, 6:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Dunn | 44 min |
| Jun 16, 7:02 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McLean, Ward | 58 min |
| Jun 16, 7:23 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 47 min |
| Jun 16, 7:32 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Grant | 58 min |
| Jun 16, 8:08 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McLean | 37 min |
| Jun 16, 8:21 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | McLean, Ward | 24 min |
| Jun 16, 9:13 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Emmons | 57 min |
| Jun 16, 9:49 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Bottineau | 41 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987
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.