Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1994

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 89, NWS Bismarck, ND

August 18, 1994Foster County, Wells County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 18, 1994, 5:38 PM CDT for Foster County, Wells County, North Dakota. It was in force for 52 min. 2 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
Aug 18, 1994, 5:38 PM CDT (22:38 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 1994, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Foster County, ND, Wells County, ND

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 18, 6:16 PM CDTTornado F1Carrington, NDThe path was estimated.
Aug 18, 6:25 PM CDTTornado F1Carrington, NDThe path was estimated.

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, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 137 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 1994-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 547 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 1994-08-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 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
547 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-266 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1614 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
223 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Aug 18, 3:11 PM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
NDZ003>006-011>015-019>025-034>037-042-045>047-050-182110-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
309 PM CDT (209 PM MDT) THU AUG 18 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 310 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY TO THE SOUTHWEST OF
BISMARCK THROUGH EASTERN MORTON...EASTERN GRANT AND SIOUX COUNTIES. THE
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 15 MILES SOUTHWEST TO 55 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
BISMARCK.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH AND WILL PRODUCE VERY
HEAVY RAIN...HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

THE ATMOSPHERE IS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND SOME MAY BECOME SEVERE.

VAN ESS
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 4:12 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
NDZ015-019>025-034>037-042-045>047-050-182210-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
410 PM CDT (310 PM MDT) THU AUG 18 1994

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 1000 PM CDT...

AT 410 PM CDT...THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN NORTHEAST SIOUX
COUNTY OF NORTH DAKOTA...30 MILES SOUTH OF BISMARCK.

THE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO MOVE EAST AT 25 MPH.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS AND
SOME MAY BECOME SEVERE.
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 4:47 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
NDZ019>025-028>030-034>039-042-045>053-MNZ002-003-182245-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
445 PM CDT (345 PM MDT) THU AUG 18 1994

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT FOR
THE SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 445 PM CDT...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS C0NTINUED OVER SOUTH CENTRAL
NORTH DAKOTA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN WEST CENTRAL
EMMON COUNTY...35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BISMARCK. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL
PASS BETWEEN LINTON AND HAZELTON AROUND 5 PM CDT. MARBLE SIZE HAIL HAS
BEEN REPORTED FROM THIS THUNDERSTORM.

THE STORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF A
STORM APPROACHES.  MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR REDUCED
VISIBILITIES DURING DOWNPOURS OF RAIN.  STREETS MAY FLOOD QUICKLY.

RR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 6:18 PM CDTTornado WarningBISFoster, Stutsman32 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1994Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1994

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.