Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 44, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 21, 1987Griggs County, Nelson County, Steele County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 21, 1987, 9:50 PM CDT for Griggs County, Nelson County, Steele County, North Dakota. It was in force for 55 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 21, 1987, 9:50 PM CDT (02:50 UTC)
Expired
Jul 21, 1987, 10:45 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Griggs County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Steele 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

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 221 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 1987-07-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 448 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 1987-07-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 221 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
448 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-370 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
701 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
221 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
454 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
25.2

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

Local storm report, Jul 21, 8:18 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before
STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
800PM CDT WED JUL 21 1987

TIME      EVENT
502 PM CDT   SPOTTER IN HOPE NORTH DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY REPORTED HEAVY
             RAIN AND HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES.

505 PM CDT   SPOTTER REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD 10 MILES WEST OF HOPE NORTH
             DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY.

505 PM CDT   SPOTTER REPORTED MARBLE-GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL 4 AND 9 MILES
             WEST OF COOPERSTOWN NORTH DAKOTA IN GRIGGS COUNTY.

530 PM CDT   GOLFBALL TO BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT CLIFFORD NORTH DAKOTA
             IN TRAILL COUNTY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

555 PM CDT   STATE RADIO RELAYS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT OF TORNADO
             TOUCHDOWN AT BLANCHARD NORTH DAKOTA IN TRAIL COUNTY.
.
620 PM CDT   1 MILES WEST, 11/2 MILES NORTH OF PILLSBURY NORTH DAKOTA
             SPOTTER REPORTED 1 INCH OF RAIN IN 15 MINUTES AND GOLFBALL
             SIZE HAIL...BARNES COUNTY
VOELKER
Local storm report, Jul 21, 8:31 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before
STORM REPORTS...CORRECTED FOR DAY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
800PM CDT TUE JUL 21 1987

TIME      EVENT
502 PM CDT   SPOTTER IN HOPE NORTH DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY REPORTED HEAVY
             RAIN AND HAIL UP TO 2 INCHES.

505 PM CDT   SPOTTER REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD 10 MILES WEST OF HOPE NORTH
             DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY.

505 PM CDT   SPOTTER REPORTED MARBLE-GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL 4 AND 9 MILES
             WEST OF COOPERSTOWN NORTH DAKOTA IN GRIGGS COUNTY.

530 PM CDT   GOLFBALL TO BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT CLIFFORD NORTH DAKOTA
             IN TRAILL COUNTY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

555 PM CDT   STATE RADIO RELAYS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT OF TORNADO
             TOUCHDOWN AT BLANCHARD NORTH DAKOTA IN TRAIL COUNTY.
.
620 PM CDT   1 MILES WEST, 11/2 MILES NORTH OF PILLSBURY NORTH DAKOTA
             SPOTTER REPORTED 1 INCH OF RAIN IN 15 MINUTES AND GOLFBALL
             SIZE HAIL...BARNES COUNTY
VOELKER
Local storm report, Jul 21, 9:26 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
930 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 1987

TIME      EVENT
615 PM CDT   WEATHER MODIFICATION UNIT REPORTS GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AND
             LARGER 10 SOUTHEAST OF COOPERSTOWN NORTH DAKOTA IN GRIGGS
             COUNTY
650 PM CDT   TORNADO 2 WEST AND 7 NORTH OF ARGUSVILLE NORTH DAKOTA IN
             CASS COUNTY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.
705 PM CDT   GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AND LARGER 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF COLGATE
             NORTH DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY.
730 PM CDT   LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT TORNADO AT ANETA NORTH DAKOTA IN
             NELSON COUNTY.
736 PM CDT   LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT OF POSSIBLE TORNADO 10 MILES NORTH
             AND 5 MILES WEST OF COOPERSTOWN NORTH DAKOTA IN GRIGGS
             COUNTY.
740 PM CDT   1.55 INCHES OF RAIN AND PEA SIZED HAIL IN WEST FARGO BY
             OFF DUTY MET TECH
745 PM CDT   MINNKOTA POWER REPORT TORNADO SOUTH OF ANETA NORTH DAKOTA.
             4 MILES SOUTH OF ANETA A HOUSE MOVED OFF OF THE FOUNDATION.
745 PM CDT   WEATHER MODIFICATION REPORT UPROOTED TREES 8 MILES NORTH OF
             COOPERSTOWN.
745 PM CDT   AMBULANCE PERSONEL REPORT TREE AND BUILDING DAMAGE AT
             FINLEY NORTH DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
755 PM CDT   TORNADO REPORT RELAYED BY STATE RADIO 3 MILES WEST 1/2 MILE
             SOUTH OF SHARON NORTH DAKOTA IN STEELE COUNTY. 3 GRAINERY
             BUILDINGS DESTROYED.
800 PM CDT   WEATHER MODIFICATION REPORTED A TORNADO 4 MILES EAST AND 5
             MILES NORTH OF COOPERSTOWN NORTH DAKOTA IN GRIGGS COUNTY
             DESTROYED A GRAINERY.
726 PM CDT   FUNNEL CLOUDS REPORTED BY CLAY COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE OVER
             GLYNDON MINNESOTA.
813 PM CDT   CLAY COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUDS SOUTHEAST OF
             BARNESVILLE MINNESOTA.
VOELKER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 7:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay, Norman58 min
Jul 21, 7:58 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBecker, Clay, Mahnomen, Otter Tail62 min
Jul 21, 8:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman, Polk62 min
Jul 21, 8:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBeltrami, Clearwater60 min
Jul 21, 9:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Hubbard, Wadena60 min
Jul 21, 11:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman49 min
Jul 22, 12:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFMahnomen, Norman50 min
Jul 22, 1:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBecker, Mahnomen, Norman54 min
Jul 22, 1:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClearwater75 min
Jul 22, 1:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNorman52 min
Jul 22, 1:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFClay52 min
Jul 21, 7:14 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFNelson61 min
Jul 21, 7:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks, Steele49 min
Jul 21, 7:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs49 min
Jul 21, 8:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson56 min
Jul 21, 9:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks, Traill55 min
Jul 21, 10:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs, Steele, Traill61 min
Jul 21, 11:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele, Traill52 min
Jul 21, 11:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs52 min
Jul 22, 12:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele, Traill58 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.