Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Bismarck, ND

July 23, 1993Kidder County, Stutsman County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 23, 1993, 2:44 PM CDT for Kidder County, Stutsman County, North Dakota. It was in force for 19 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 23, 1993, 2:44 PM CDT (19:44 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 1993, 3:03 PM CDT
In force
19 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Kidder County, ND, Stutsman County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 104 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 1993-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 1993-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
0 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
61 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 KBIS 231944
TORBIS
NDC043-093-103-232030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
244 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 1993

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE CENTRAL PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      NORTHERN KIDDER...WELLS...

   IN THE EAST CENTRAL PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      NORTHWEST STUTSMAN...

AT 240 PM CDT TWO TORNADOS WERE REPORTED. ONE WAS JUST WEST OF
WOODWORTH OR 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN. THE OTHER WAS
ON THE GROUND 20 MILES WEST OF CARRINGTON. THE TORNADOS WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST 25 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADlO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER
IF AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES.

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, Jul 23, 12:51 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
NDZ001>018-231900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
1250 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 1993

...WEAK FUNNELS HAVE BEEN REPORTED SOUTHWEST OF MINOT...

AT 1245 PM FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE SIGHTED TO THE SOUTHWEST OF MINOT.
THESE WERE PROBABLY COLD AIR FUNNEL CLOUDS...AND WERE MOVING TOWARD
THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THESE WEAK FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
THEY ARE FORMED BY THUNDERSHOWERS OR RAIN SHOWERS WHEN UNIQUE
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ARE MET.

THESE FUNNELS GENERALLY DO NOT REACH THE GROUND AND ARE USUALLY SHORT
LIVED. THEY HAVE...HOWEVER...ON RARE OCCASION TOUCHED THE GROUND AND
CAUSED DAMAGE. BECASUE OF THIS POSSIBILITY...SEEK SHELTER IFl THESE
WEAK FUNNELS ARE OBSERVED IN YOUR AREA.
<
RCM
Special weather statement, Jul 23, 2:15 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
NDZ001-003>005-232000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
215 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 1993

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ACROSS WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA..THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM IS LOCATED IN WEST CENTRAL BURKE COUNTY.  THE
THUNDERSTORM IS 50 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHEAST OF WILLISTON, NORTH DAKOTA.
THIS THUNDERSTORM AND A SERIES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE
IN AN ARC FROM PLENTYWOOD MONTANA TO CROSBY NORTH DAKOTA TO JUST SOUTH
OF MINOT NORTH DAKOTA.  THE STORMS ARE VERY SLOW..MOVING TO THE NNW AT
10 MPH.

THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN..SMALL HAIL..GUSTY
WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.  IN THE MINOT AREA A FEW COLD AIR FUNNELS
HAVE BEEN REPORTED..THESE ARE USUALLY SHORT LIVED AND RARELY TOUCH THE
GROUND.  HOWEVER BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF TOUCHING THE GROUND THESE
FUNNELS..AS WELL AS THE HAIL AND LIGHTNING..PERSONS IN THE PATH SHOULD
SEEK SHELTER IF OBSERVED IN YOUR VICINITY.
ALLARD
Special weather statement, Jul 23, 2:18 PM CDT, 26 minutes before
NDZ001>018-232000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
215 PM CDT FRI JUL 23 1993

...MORE FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTNINGS NEAR MINOT...

AT 205 PM...A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SIGHTED BY A PILOT JUST WEST OF BERTHOLD
...WHICH IS 25 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF MINOT ON HIGHWAY 2. MEANWHILE
ANOTHER FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SIGHTED 10 MILES SOUTH OF MOHALL...OR 35 MILES
NORTHWEST OF MINOT.

THESE...AND OTHER FUNNEL CLOUD SIGHTINGS IN THE AREA...ARE PROBABLY
COLD AIR FUNNEL CLOUDS. THESE WEAK FUNNELS FORM IN COOL AND UNSTABLE
AIR.

COLD AIR FUNNELS RARELY TOUCH DOWN...AND ONLY FOR A FEW MOMENTS WHEN
THEY DO. BECAUSE THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK WITH THESE FUNNEL CLOUDS...
PERSONS WHO DO SIGHT SUC@H SMALL ROTATING CLOUDS SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON
THEM AND TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY HOME IF A TOUCHDOWN LOOKS IMMINENT.

RCM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 22, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean, Sheridan43 min
Jul 23, 2:44 PM CDTTornado WarningBISWells46 min
Jul 23, 5:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcIntosh57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1993Every tornado warning in 1993Tornadoes in 1993

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.