Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 1987, 1:31 AM MDT for Hettinger County, North Dakota. It was in force for 29 min. 2 reports 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 20, 1987, 1:31 AM MDT (07:31 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 20, 1987, 2:00 AM MDT
- In force
- 29 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Hettinger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 1:40 AM MDT | Hail 1.75 | Hettinger, ND | |
| Jul 20, 1:58 AM MDT | Hail 0.75 | Hettinger, 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, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 140 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
- 90 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -185 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1852 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -8 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 77 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBIS 200731 TORBIS NDC041-200800- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 131 AM MDT MON JUL 20 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 200 AM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST HETTINGER THIS WARNING INCLUDES THE TOWN OF NEW ENGLAND. . . AT 130 AM MDT A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SIGHTED 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEW ENGLAND...15 MILES SOUTH OF DICKINSON...MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER IF AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. AB ANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES. THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. THIS STORM MAY ALSO CAUSE FLOODING OF SMALL STREAMS AND UNDERPASSES. KAS/0730Z
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 19, 9:15 PM MDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before
STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
1015 PM CDT SUN JUL 19 1987
TIME ZONE EVENT...LOCATION...REMARKS
805 PM CDT PEA SIZE HAIL NEAR AMIDON IN SLOPE COUNTY.
820 PM CDT MCARBLE SIZE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN 8 MILES WEST OF
HETTINGER IN ADAMS COUNTY.
907 PM GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL .75 INCH RAIN FELL IN 15 MIN
AT REGENT IN HETTINGER COUNTY.
TURNERSpecial weather statement, Jul 19, 9:16 PM MDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 915 PM MDT SUN JUL 19 1987 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN DUNN AND MOUNTRAIL COUNTIES IN WESTCENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA... AT 905 PM MDT WILLISTON RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING FROM MANNING IN DUNN COUNTY TO 10 MILES SOUTH OF PARSHALL IN MOUNTRAIL COUNTY. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED SOUTH OF PARSHALL. PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS SHOULDD BE PREPARED FOR GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING STRIKES AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. NEWKIRK
Local storm report, Jul 20, 1:07 AM MDT, 24 minutes before
STORM REPORTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 200 AM CDT MON JUL 20 1987 TIME ZONE EVENT...LOCATION...REMARKS 1221 AM CDT 1/2 INCH HAIL AT LINTON (EMMONS COUNTY) 0117 AM CDT GOLFBAL L SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT BOWMAN (BOWMAN COUNTY) 0152 AM CDT 1/2 INCH TO 2 INCH HAIL AT ASHLEY (MCINTOSH COUNTY) LEBLANG
Local storm report, Jul 20, 1:08 AM MDT, 23 minutes before
STORM REPORTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 200 AM CDT MON JUL 20 1987 TIME ZONE EVENT...LOCATION...REMARKS 1221 AM CDT 1/2 INCH HAIL AT LINTON (EMMONS COUNTY) 0117 AM CDT GOLFBAL L SIZE HAIL REPORTED AT BOWMAN (BOWMAN COUNTY) 0152 AM CDT 1/2 INCH TO 2 INCH HAIL AT ASHLEY (MCINTOSH COUNTY) LEBLANG
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 1:26 AM MDT, 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 225 AM CDT MON JUL 20 1987 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 3 AM CDT... ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 7 AM CDT... THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR BOWMAN COUNTY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. VERY INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES OVER SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA AT 230 AM CDT. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHWEST HETTINGER COUNTY...ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH OF NEW ENGLAND OR 30 MILES SOUTH OF DICKINSON....ANOTHER A FEW MILES NORTHWEST OF NEW LEIPZIG IN GRANT COUNTY OR 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BISMARCK...AND ANOTHER JUST SOUTHWEST OF ALMONT IN CENTRAL MORTON COUNTY OR 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BISMARCK. ALL OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. THEY WERE PRODUCING DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..VERY HEAVY RAIN AND COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THIS AREA HAS BEEN SATURATED WITH RAIN AND FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS IS POSSIBLE. AGAIN...THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF SEVERE WEATHER AND PERSONS IN SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA SHOULD KEEP ALERT FOR RAPID WEATHER CHANGES. KAS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Bismarck, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 7:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Adams | 58 min |
| Jul 19, 8:22 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | Adams, Sioux | 38 min |
| Jul 19, 8:58 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | Sioux | 32 min |
| Jul 19, 9:02 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Grant | 58 min |
| Jul 19, 9:34 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | Adams | 26 min |
| Jul 19, 9:46 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Sioux | 59 min |
| Jul 19, 10:48 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Emmons | 72 min |
| Jul 19, 10:52 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Sioux | 68 min |
| Jul 19, 11:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Emmons, Logan, McIntosh | 62 min |
| Jul 20, 12:25 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Bowman | 65 min |
| Jul 20, 1:46 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Hettinger | 29 min |
| Jul 20, 2:15 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Grant, Hettinger, Slope | 60 min |
| Jul 20, 2:15 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Bowman | 60 min |
| Jul 20, 2:53 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Morton | 37 min |
| Jul 20, 3:17 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Adams, Hettinger | 58 min |
| Jul 20, 4:07 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Grant | 68 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes 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.