Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1987
Tornado Warning 10, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 21, 1987, 7:14 PM CDT for Nelson County, North Dakota. It was in force for 61 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 21, 1987, 7:14 PM CDT (00:14 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 21, 1987, 8:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Nelson 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 21, 7:30 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Nelson, 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, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 228 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 220014 TORFAR NDC063-220115- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND 714 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 1987 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NELSON TO INCLUDE THE TOWNS OF MCVILLE AND LAKOTA. AT 647 PM CDT A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS SIGHTED NORTH OF WARWICK OR 10 MILES SOUTH OF DEVILS LAKE. 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. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING. IF CAUGHT OUTDOORS...GET INTO A DBITCH...GULLY...RAVINE...OR EVEN A LOW LYING SPOT ON THE GROUND. PROTECT YOUR HEAD. THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL...AND DANGEROUS STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. VOELKER
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
Special weather statement, Jul 21, 3:38 PM CDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND 335 PM CDT TUE JUL 21 1987 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS TUESDAY EVENING FOR A LARGE PART OF NORTH DAKOTA AND A PART OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA... AT 325 PM CDT...A PAIR OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED 30 MILES AND 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA OR NEAR THE TOWNS OF NEW ROCKFORD AND CARRINGTON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE INTO GRIGGS AND SOUTHERN NELSON COUNTIES BY 425 PM CDT. PERSONS LIVING IN THESE AREAS...ESPECIALLY THE TOWNS OF COOPERSTOWN...HANNAFORD...AND DAZEY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF NECESSARY. ALSO AT 325 PM CDT...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN...WERE LOCATED OVER NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS W(ERE ALSO MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. MB
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 7:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cass, Traill | 58 min |
| Jul 21, 7:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks, Steele | 49 min |
| Jul 21, 7:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs | 49 min |
| Jul 21, 8:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Traill | 62 min |
| Jul 21, 8:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Nelson | 56 min |
| Jul 21, 9:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs, Nelson, Steele | 55 min |
| Jul 21, 9:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks, Traill | 55 min |
| Jul 21, 10:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs, Steele, Traill | 61 min |
| Jul 21, 11:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Steele, Traill | 52 min |
| Jul 21, 11:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs | 52 min |
| Jul 22, 12:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Steele, Traill | 58 min |
| Jul 22, 1:53 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cass, Traill | 52 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.