Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Bismarck, ND

July 1, 1993Wells County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 1993, 1:55 PM CDT for Wells County, North Dakota. It was in force for 18 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 1, 1993, 1:55 PM CDT (18:55 UTC)
Expired
Jul 1, 1993, 2:13 PM CDT
In force
18 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Wells County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 1993-07-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 130 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 1993-07-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 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
130 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1162 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBIS 011852
TORBIS
NDC103-012000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
155 PM CDT THU JUL 1 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...WESTERN WELLS COUNTY
 
AT 150 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR GOODRICH...55 MILES NORTHEAST
OF BISMARCK. RADAR INDICATED THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT
20 MPH.
 
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 AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
KM

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 1, 8:52 AM CDT, 5 hours 3 minutes before
NDZ001>011-011600-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
850 AM CDT THU JUL 1 1993

...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 845 AM CDT...A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS
WERE OCCURRING OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. THE PRECIPITATION WAS IN A
50 MILE BAND STRETCHING FROM WILLISTON SOUTHWARD THROUGH DICKINSON INTO
NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA.

ALL OF THE ACTIVITY WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Jul 1, 1:05 PM CDT, 50 minutes before
NDZ002>003-005-011900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
105 PM CDT THU JUL 1 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 100 PM CDT...WILLISTON RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES WEST
OF WILLISTON. THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AND HOUR
AND WILL BE IN THE WILLISTON AREA AROUND 130 PM CDT.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO DEVELOPING NEAR THE TOWN OF SIDNEY IN
EASTERM MONTANA. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES
AN HOURS.

THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTAIN BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...SMALL
HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

IF THESE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH YOUR AREA...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS.

RICHMOND

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 1, 1:26 PM CDTTornado WarningBISPierce34 min
Jul 1, 3:11 PM CDTTornado WarningBISBurleigh, Kidder34 min
Jul 1, 3:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBISTowner30 min
Jul 1, 5:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMorton48 min
Jul 1, 5:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISOliver68 min
Jul 1, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurleigh60 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.