Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Grand Forks, ND

June 13, 1991Walsh County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jun 13, 1991, 5:08 PM CDT for Walsh County, North Dakota. It was in force for 22 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 13, 1991, 5:08 PM CDT (22:08 UTC)
Expired
Jun 13, 1991, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
22 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Walsh County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 286 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 12:00Z on 1991-06-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1191 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 12:00Z on 1991-06-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 71 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1191 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-284 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1071 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
71 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
89 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 132208
TORFAR
NDC099-132230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
508 PM CDT THU JUN 13 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FARGO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...WESTERN WALSH COUNTY
 
AT 455 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE WALSH COUNTY LINE ...10
MILES EAST OF BROCKET OR 30 MILES EAST OF DEVILS LAKE NORTH DAKOTA
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH A&S A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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 13, 2:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before
NDZ012-013-014-015-016-017-018-MNZ001-006-007-010-011-013-132030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
255 PM CDT THU JUN 13 1991

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
   AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA UNTIL 900 PM CDT...

AT 233 PM CDT...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER NORTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

THE STORMS WERE LOCATED 15 MILES EAST OF DEVILS LAKE NORTH DAKOTA
...AND 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF BEMIDJI MINNESOTA.

IN ADDITION TO VERY HEAVY RAIN THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE FREQUENT
LIGHTING STRIKES...HAIL...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR.  THESE STORMS WILL
BE NEAR THE FOLLOWING CITIES AND TOWNS BY 330 PM CDT.  IN NORTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA...WHITMAN...ADAMS...AND PARK RIVER.  IN NORTH CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...NORTHOME...KELLIHOR..AND BLACKDUCK.

IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR ONE OF THE CITIES OR TOWNS MENTIONED...STAY
ALERT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER AND BE PREPARED TO GO
TO A SAFE PLACE IF NEEDED.

CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  KEEP IN MIND THE ABOVE MENTIONED WATCH AND
LISTEN TO TV...RADIO...AS WELL AS NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER
STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

DM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 13, 3:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson36 min
Jun 13, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson60 min
Jun 13, 5:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCavalier66 min
Jun 13, 6:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.