Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jun 18, 1988, 6:18 PM CDT for Steele County, Traill County, North Dakota. It was in force for 57 min. 3 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
- Jun 18, 1988, 6:18 PM CDT (23:18 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 18, 1988, 7:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 57 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Steele County, ND, Traill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 6:33 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Steele, ND | |
| Jun 18, 6:55 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Steele, ND | |
| Jun 18, 7:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Traill, 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 258 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
- 1537 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -455 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1461 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 98 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 139 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KFAR 182318
TORFAR
NDC091-097-190015-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
618 PM CDT SAT JUN 18 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES
IN THE EAST CENTRAL PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
STEELE...TRAILL
AT 615 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 40 MILES SOUTH-
WEST OF GRAND FORKS NEAR FINLEY. A TORNADO WAS REPORTED FROM THIS
SAME STORM 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF COOPERSTOWN NORTH DAKOTA.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN A CENTRAL INTERIOR
ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...
PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND PROTECT YOUR HEAD.
AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED
BUILDING.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...TAKE SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH...
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...TAKE SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL...AND
DANGEROUS STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.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, Jun 18, 5:32 PM CDT, 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND 535 PM CDT SAT JUN 18 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA UNTIL 1000PM CDT. AT 525 PM CDT...AN ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD DEVELOPED RAPIDLY OVER EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS. THIS STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE ANETA...SHARON/FINLEY AREAS BY 630 PM CDT. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG WINDS. MOVEMENT OF THIS STORM WAS EAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. ELSEWHERE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW WITH HEAVY RAIN CONTINUED OVER NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. VOELKER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 5:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Griggs, Nelson, Steele | 66 min |
| Jun 18, 5:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 66 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes 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.