Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1994

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 1, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 3, 1994Grand Forks County, Steele County, Traill County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1994, 4:29 PM CDT for Grand Forks County, Steele County, Traill County, North Dakota. It was in force for 61 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 3, 1994, 4:29 PM CDT (21:29 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 1994, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties

Counties Grand Forks County, ND, Steele County, ND, Traill County, ND

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 263 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -246 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 898 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 032129
SVRFAR
NDC035-091-097-032230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
429 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 1994

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      SOUTHERN GRAND FORKS...

   IN THE EAST CENTRAL PART OF NORTH DAKOTA
      NORTHERN STEELE...NORTHERN TRAILL...

AT 420 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 35 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS OR JUST NORTH OF FINLEY NORTH DAKOTA.
A MOBILE HOME 6 MILES NORTH AND 2 MILES EAST OF FINLEY HAD BEEN
DESTROYED AT 415 PM CDT. SOME TOWNS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE
MAYVILLE/PORTLAND...HATTON AND BUXTON.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
A TORNADO WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING...SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT.
IF YOU SPOT A FUNNEL OR A TORNADO YOU SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A
REINFORCED BUILDING OR IN AN INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM OUTSIDE WALLS.

VOELKER

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, May 3, 3:45 PM CDT, 44 minutes before

NDZ007-008-016-026>030-038-039-048-049-051>053-MNZ001>004-
007-008-013>015-022-024-027>032-039>041-047-032145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FARGO ND
345 PM CDT TUE MAY 3 1994

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP OVER NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

AT 330 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD DEVELOPED OVER NORTHEAST NORTH
DAKOTA...ABOUT 35 MILES WEST OF GRAND FORKS...NEAR THE TOWN OF PETERSBURG.
THIS THUNDERSTORM MAY CONTAIN SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS.  IT WAS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR...AND SHOULD BE NORTH OF GRAND FORKS...NEAR
THE TOWN OF MINTO BY 430 PM.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED NEAR THE TOWN OF
PARK RIVER...45 MILES NORTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS...AND ALSO ABOUT 20 MILES
EAST OF GRAND FORKS.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO CONTAIN SOME SMALL
HAIL.

ELSEWHERE...NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN...
HAD DEVELOPED OVER PARTS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKO@TA.  THESE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED FROM SOUTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN...AND EXTENDED
UP TO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF NORTH DAKOTA.

THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN BOTH AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY
SINCE 230 THIS AFTERNOON.
RLA

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1994 Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.