Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Bismarck, ND

July 3, 1994Kidder County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1994, 2:55 PM CDT for Kidder County, North Dakota. It was in force for 26 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 3, 1994, 2:55 PM CDT (19:55 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 1994, 3:21 PM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Kidder County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 1994-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1106 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 1994-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 168 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
1106 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-98 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
695 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
205 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBIS 031955
TORBIS
NDC043-032030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
255 PM CDT SUN JUL 3 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...CENTRAL KIDDER COUNTY
 
AT 250 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND NORTH
OF STEELE...NEAR HIGHWAY THREE. THIS IS ABOUT 40 MILES EAST OF BISMARCK.
THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE EAST/NORTHEAST AT 25 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.
 
 
 
&

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 3, 2:23 PM CDT, 32 minutes before
NDZ019>023-034>036-032000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
220 PM CDT SUN JUL 3 1994

...WEAK FUNNELS HAVE BEEN REPORTED OVER CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 215 PM CDT..FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE REPORTED BY SEVERAL OBSERVERS IN
KIDDER COUNTY SOUTHWEST OF STEELE...OVER ABOUT 40  MILES EAST OF
BISMARCK. THE FUNNEL WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

THESE WEAK FUNNEL CLOUDS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
THEY ARE FORMED BY THUNDERSHOWERS 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 POSSIBILIT^Y...SEEK SHELTER IF THESE
WEAK FUNNELS ARE OBSERVED IN YOUR AREA.
<
FORS
Special weather statement, Jul 3, 2:37 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
NDZ013>006-011>014-019>025-035>037-042-045>047-032000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
235 PM CDT SUN JUL 3 1994

...THUNDERSTORMS IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 230 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR IN BISMARCK SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
FROM NEAR HAZELTON IN EMMONS COUNTY...OR ABOUT 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
BISMARCK TO NEAR WEBSTER IN RAMSEY COUNTY...OR ABOUT 20 MILES NORTH
OF DEVILS LAKE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST/NORTHEAST
AT 30 MPH.

STRONGER STORMS WERE LOCATED IN WESTERN KIDDER COUNTY...OR ABOUT
40 MILES EAST OF BISMARCK. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS NEAR WEBSTER
IN RAMSEY COUNTY...OR ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF DEVILS LAKE.

THESE STORMS CAN PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS.
<
FORS

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.