Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 5, 1987Nelson County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 1987, 7:05 PM CDT for Nelson County, North Dakota. It was in force for 60 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
Aug 5, 1987, 7:05 PM CDT (00:05 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 1987, 8:05 PM CDT
In force
60 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 5, 7:25 PM CDTHail 1.5Nelson, ND
Aug 5, 8:00 PM CDTHail 1.5Nelson, 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, 0.1 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1987-08-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 282 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 1987-08-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -78 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
282 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-257 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2542 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-33 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 060005
TORFAR
NDC063-060105-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
705 PM CDT WED AUG 5 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 805 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NELSON

AT 700 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR MAPES OR 50 MILES WEST OF
GRAND FORKS.

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 DITCH...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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 5, 7:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCavalier60 min
Aug 5, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele, Traill56 min
Aug 5, 7:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks66 min
Aug 5, 7:49 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFGrand Forks56 min
Aug 5, 8:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks, Nelson55 min
Aug 5, 8:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele58 min
Aug 5, 8:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks55 min
Aug 5, 8:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTraill63 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.