Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 36, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 14, 1988, 6:17 PM CDT for McHenry County, North Dakota. It was in force for 43 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
- Aug 14, 1988, 6:17 PM CDT (23:17 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 14, 1988, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County McHenry 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 6:40 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Mchenry, 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 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 163 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
- 19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -204 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 708 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 42 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 116 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.1
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
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 4:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 440 PM CDT SUN AUG 14 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR THE CANADIAN BORDER... AT 435 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR WAS DETECTING A POWERFUL THUNDERSTORM JUST NORTH OF THE RENVILLE COUNTY LINE IN EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN SASKATCHEWAN...75 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF MINOT. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING A LITTLE SOUTH OF EAST AT 20 MPH AND MAY ENTER NORTHERN RENVILLE AND NORTHWESTERN BOTTINEAU COUNTY BEFORE 6 PM CDT. THE TOWNS OF SHWERWOOD AND ANTLER LIE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM. THIS STORM LIKELY CONTAINS SMALL HAIL...WINDS OF 50 MPH...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. OTHER THUNDERSHOWERS HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED DURING THE PAST HOUR OVER THE CENTRAL PART OF LAKE SAKAKAWEA. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE SHELTER INDOORS IMMEDIATELY. LEBLANG
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 5:03 PM CDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 500PM CDT SUN AUG 14 1988 ...THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORMING OVER NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA... AT 450 PM CDT WILLISTON RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER MCKENZIE AND MOUNTRAIL COUNTIES OF NORTH DAKOTA AND OVER RICHALND COUNTY IN EASTERN MONTANA. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE OVER EXTRENE NORTH EAST MCKENZIE COUNTY 5 MILES EAST OF KEENE OR 40 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WILLISTON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. THE THUNDERSTORMS OVER RICHLAND COUNTY MONTANA WERE IN THE SIDNEY MONTANA AREA AND WERE ALSO MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING OVER NORTHWEST MCKENZIE AND SOUTHWEST: WILLIAMS COUNTIES BY 530 PM CDT. ALL THE THUNDERSTOMS CAN PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL ALONG WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS. IF A THUNDERSTORM MOVES OVER YOUR AREA GO TO A SAFE PLACE. KENNEDY
Special weather statement, Aug 14, 5:37 PM CDT, 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 535 PM CDT SUN AUG 14 1988 ...THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING INTO THE WILLISTON AREA... AT 530 PM CDT WILLISTON RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS 15 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF WILLISTON. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL WILL ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS AS THEY MOVE OVER THE WILLISTON AREA DURING THE NEXT HOUR. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED OVER SOUTHWEST MOUNTRAIL COUNTY OF NORTH DAKOTA. THESE STORMS HAVE DECREASED IN INTENSITY SINCE 5 PM CDT BUT MAY CONTINUE TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST A_T 20 MILES AN HOUR. IF A THUNDERSTORM MOVES OVER YOUR AREA GO TO A SAFE PLACE. KENNEDY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Bismarck, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 5:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Bottineau | 68 min |
| Aug 14, 6:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McLean | 40 min |
| Aug 14, 6:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | McHenry | 29 min |
| Aug 14, 6:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Burke, Mountrail, Williams | 33 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988
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.