Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 14, 1988Cass County, Traill County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 14, 1988, 11:39 PM CDT for Cass County, Traill County, North Dakota. It was in force for 66 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 14, 1988, 11:39 PM CDT (04:39 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 1988, 12:45 AM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cass 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 269 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 1988-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2665 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 1988-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 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
2665 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-58 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2740 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
108 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 150439
TORFAR
NDC017-097-150545-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
1139 PM CDT THU JUL 14 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE EAST CENTRAL PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      NORTHERN CASS...TRAILL

AT 1128 PM CDT...A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED BY THE HILLSBORO
POLICE DEPARTMENT 4 MILES SOUTH...OR 30 MILES NORTH OF FARGO
MOVING TO THE EAST AT 15 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR.

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.

tIF 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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 1:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina64 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.