Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Bismarck, ND

June 13, 1994Hettinger County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Jun 13, 1994, 6:18 PM MDT for Hettinger County, North Dakota. It was in force for 27 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 13, 1994, 6:18 PM MDT (00:18 UTC)
Expired
Jun 13, 1994, 6:45 PM MDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Hettinger County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 140 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 1994-06-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 123 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 1994-06-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 249 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
123 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-224 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1350 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
249 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
510 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBIS 140018
TORBIS
NDC041-140045-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
618 PM MDT MON JUN 13 1994

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 645 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      NORTHEAST HETTINGER

AT 615 PM MDT WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE POSSIBLE
TORNADO FORMATION OCCURING 8 MILES SOUTH OF LEFOR OR 25 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF DICKINSON MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
.
THIS STORM WILL ALSO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

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

THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...LARGE HAIL...
VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

 LEBLANG

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, 4:57 PM MDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
NDZ017>021-031>043-040>045-132345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
455 PM MDT MON JUN 13 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 450 PM MDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES
NORTH OF AMIDON...OR 21 MILES NORTH OF BOWMAN. THE THUNDERSTORM WAS
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE SMALL HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND WIND GUSTS
UP TO 55 MPH.

PERSO>NS IN NORTHEAST SLOPE AND SOUTHERN STARK COUNTIES SHOULD SEEK
SHELTER INDOORS AS THIS STORM APPROACHES.

LEBLANG
Special weather statement, Jun 13, 5:06 PM MDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before
NDZ001-009-017-018-031-032-140005-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON   ND
605 PM CDT MON JUN 13 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS WERE ENTERING NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 6 PM CDT...5 PM MDT...AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING INTO WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA.  THIS AREA EXTENDED FROM 60 MILES
NORTHWEST OF WILLISTON TO 45 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WILLISTON.  THE
STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WILLISTON...15
MILES NORTH OF SIDNEY MONTANA.  THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 45 MPH.

PERSONS IN WESTERN MCKENZIE AND WILLIAMS COUNTY SHOULD BE ON THE
LOOKOUT FOR THIS THUNDERSTORM.  THIS STORM LIKELY CONTAINS DEADLY
LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RTAIN...POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL...AND STRONG GUSTY
WINDS.

IF A THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES...TAKE SHELTER.

SCARLETT
Special weather statement, Jun 13, 5:13 PM MDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
NDZ017>021-031>043-040>045-140000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
510 PM MDT MON JUN 13 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 505 PM MDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED TWO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA.

ONE STORM WAS LOCATED 21 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF DICKINSON OR 8 MILES
SOUTH OF BELFIELD. THE OTHER STORM WAS 28 MILES NORTH OF BOWMAN OR 8
MILES NORTHEAST OF AMIDON.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL MOVE INTO THE
DICKINSON AREA BETWEEN 530 AND 600 PM MDT.

VERY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH ARE LIKELY
WITH THESE STORMS. PERSONS IN STARK COUNTY...INCLUDING THE DICKINSON AREA`
AND IN HETTINGER COUNTY...INCLUDING THE CITY OF NEW ENGLAND SHOULD SEEK
SHELTER INDOORS AS THESE STORMS APPROACH.

LEBLANG
Special weather statement, Jun 13, 6:10 PM MDT, 8 minutes before
NDZ001-002-009-010-017-018-031-032-140110-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON   ND
706 PM CDT MON JUN 13 1994

...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 705 CDT...605 MDT...RADAR INDICATED AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM 40 MILES
NORTHEAST OF DICKINSON...7 MILES EAST OF DUNN CENTER.  THIS
THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.  OTHER STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED 40 MILES NORTH OF DICKINSON...10 MILESX WEST
OF KILLDEER.

HAIL...HEAVY RAIN...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS LIKELY WILL ACCOMPANY THESE
THUNDERSTORMS

REMEMBER...THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE A TORNADO.
TAKE SHELTER.

SCARLETT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 13, 6:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISGrant53 min
Jun 13, 6:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISHettinger28 min
Jun 13, 7:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean28 min
Jun 13, 7:42 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMorton48 min
Jun 13, 8:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurleigh, Emmons30 min
Jun 13, 8:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISHettinger47 min
Jun 13, 8:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISEmmons, Kidder, Logan54 min
Jun 13, 11:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISStutsman54 min
Jun 13, 11:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISKidder24 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.