Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 1994, 6:18 PM CDT for Foster County, Stutsman County, North Dakota. It was in force for 32 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, 6:18 PM CDT (23:18 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 18, 1994, 6:50 PM CDT
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Foster County, ND, Stutsman County, ND
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 6:25 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Carrington, ND | The path was estimated. |
| Aug 18, 6:51 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Buchanan, ND | The 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, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 144 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBIS 182321 TORBIS NDC031-093-182345- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 618 PM CDT THU AUG 18 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 650 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ...EASTERN FOSTER COUNTY...NORTHEASTERN STUTSMAN COUNTY AT 615 PM CDT...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED 5 MILES EAST CARRINGTON 40 MILES NORTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. 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. RR
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, Aug 18, 3:11 PM CDT, 3 hours 7 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, 2 hours 6 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, 1 hour 31 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 5:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Foster, Wells | 52 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.