Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 49, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 12, 1988Ransom County, Richland County, Sargent County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 12, 1988, 8:47 PM CDT for Ransom County, Richland County, Sargent County, North Dakota. It was in force for 58 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jul 12, 1988, 8:47 PM CDT (01:47 UTC)
Expired: Jul 12, 1988, 9:45 PM CDT
In force: 58 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties

Counties Ransom County, ND, Richland County, ND, Sargent 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

Aberdeen, SD (KHON), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 171 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2861 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1651 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 185 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 447 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.2
Supercell composite: 18.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 130147
SVRFAR
NDC073-077-081-130245-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
847 PM CDT TUE JUL 12 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE SOUTHEAST PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      EAST AND CENTRAL RANSOM...WESTERN RICHLAND...EAST AND 
      CENTRAL SARGENT

AT 843 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
55 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FARGO NORTH DAKOTA NEAR THE CITIES OF LISBON
AND FORMAN MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAIN MAY FLOOD ROADWAYS QUICKLY
...AVOID DRIVING INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
A TORNADO WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING...SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT.

TS/ME

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, Jul 12, 5:37 PM CDT, 3 hours 10 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
535 PM CDT TUE JUL 12 1988

...TORNADO WATCH FOR CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA TIL 11PM CDT...

AT 529 PM CDT...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA...20 MILES WEST OF JAMESTOWN...AND ALSO 30 MILES SOUTH OF
DEVILS LAKE.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL
LIKELY PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING
STRIKES.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA...WHILE SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSHOWERS LINGERED OVER PARTS OF
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF NORTH DAKOTA.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

Special weather statement, Jul 12, 6:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 6 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
635 PM CDT TUE JUL 12 1988

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM CDT FOR
   A LARGE PORTION OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST AND
   WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

AT 625 PM CDT...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING
INTO EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. THESE INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MAINLY OVER
GRIGGS AND BARNES COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA FROM NEAR VALLEY
CITY NORTHWARD THROUGH THE HANNAFORD...COOPERSTOWN...MC VILLE AND ANETA
AREAS. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD
MOVE INTO WESTERN GRAND FORKS...EASTERN NELSON AND STEELE COUNTIES
BETWEEN 7PM AND 730 PM. SO FAR...THESE INTENSE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED VERY
HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING AS THEY PASS THROUGH.

OTHER SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA MAINLY OVER A 75 MILE WIDE AREA FROM 30 MILES NORTH OF DEVILS
LAKE TO NEAR THE NORTH DAKOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA STATE LINE SOUTH OF ELLENDALE.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND
PERSON OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA SHOULD BE ALERT FORN RAPIDLY CHANGING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF SEVERE WEATHER
APPROACHES.
SPIES

Local storm report, Jul 12, 8:07 PM CDT, 40 minutes before

STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
800 PM CDT TUE JUL 12 1988

TIME      EVENT
650 PM    15 MILES NORTH OF ELLENDALE NORTH DAKOTA OBSERVER REPORTED
          GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.

645 PM    4 MILES WEST OF FINLEY NORTH DAKOTA IN WESTERN STEELE COUNTY
          REPORT OF PEA SIZE HAIL, VERY HEAVY RAIN AND 45 MPH WIND.

652 PM    WEATHER OBSERVER REPORTED GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL, .60 INCH OF RAIN
          IN 20 MINUTES 4 MILES EAST OF EDGELEY NORTH DAKOTA IN SOUTHERN
          LA MOURE COUNTY.

725 PM    8 TO 9 MILES NORTH OF ELLENDALE NORTH DAKOTA WEATHER OBSERVER
          REPORTED 3 INCH DIAMETER HAIL.

732 PM    STATE POLICE REPORTED 4 AND ONE/HALF INCH HAIL OR (SOFTBALL
          SIZE HAIL 5 MILES WEST OF FULLERTON NORTH DAKOTA.
SPIES

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 12, 7:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass, Steele, Traill	55 min
Jul 12, 7:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Dickey, Ransom, Sargent	58 min
Jul 12, 7:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	LaMoure	58 min
Jul 12, 8:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass, Traill	57 min
Jul 12, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	LaMoure	60 min
Jul 12, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Cass	60 min
Jul 12, 10:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Cass	60 min
Jul 12, 10:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Richland	55 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1988 Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.