Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 18, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 3, 1996, 11:23 PM CDT for Emmons County, North Dakota. It was in force for 52 min. 1 report 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 3, 1996, 11:23 PM CDT (04:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 4, 1996, 12:15 AM CDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Emmons County, ND
The radar
The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:23 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 11:30 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Linton, ND |
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.
The nearest sounding before it
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 64 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
- 1645 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -227 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1225 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 67 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 121 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBIS 040422 TORBIS NDC029-040515- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 1123 PM CDT SAT AUG 3 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ...EMMONS COUNTY AT 1120 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 6 MILES WEST OF LINTON MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS STORM WILL PASS NEAR LINTON BY 1130 PM CDT. BY MIDNIGHT CDT...THIS STORM WILL MOVE TO THE LOGAN COUNTY LINE 15 MILES EAST OF LINTON BY MIDNIGHT CDT. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STFURDY 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. ABELING
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 3, 7:18 PM CDT, 4 hours 5 minutes before
NDZ019-020-033>037-040>048-050-051-040130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 720 PM CDT SAT AUG 3 1996 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA... AT 600 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS 45 MILES SOUTH OF BOWMAN. THIS NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST ORIENTED LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN BOWMAN COUNTY BETWEEN 630 AND 7 PM MDT. AS THE LINE CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHEAST...AREAS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA WILL SEE THUNDERSTORMS AFTER 9 PM CDT. ALTHOUGH NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED AS OF 6 PM MDT...THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP OVER NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING. BE lON THE LOOKOUT AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH FROM THE SOUTH. ABELING
Special weather statement, Aug 3, 8:56 PM CDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
SAFETY RULES FOR SEVERE STORMS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 900 PM CDT SAT AUG 3 1996 A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. THE FOLLOWING SAFETY RULES SHOULD BE BROADCAST BY ALL STATIONS. A WATCH MEANS THAT WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES. DURING A WATCH... YOU SHOULD GO ABOUT YOUR NORMAL BUSINESS...BUT STAY UPDATED ON THE LATEST WEATHER DEVELOPMENTS AND BE PREPARED TO GO TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. A WARNING MEANS THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OR TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED...OR INDICATED BY OUR RADAR. PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE SAFETY MEASURES AS OUTLINED HERE. ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL... HEAVY RAINS...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS. LIGHTNING IS THE SINGLE WORST KILLER FROM THUNDERSTORMS SO DO NOT USE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES...THE PHONE ONLY IN AN EMERGENCY. IF CAUGHT OUTDOORS...GET OFF OF OPEN VEHICLES...FARM IMPLEMENTS AND CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT. DO NOT BE IN CONTACT WITH METAL OBJECTS AND REMOVE METAL CLEATS. DO NOT BE THE TALLEST OBJECT AROUND AND AVOID OBJECTS THAT PROJECT ABOVE THE LANDSCAPE. IF ON A BOAT OR SWIMMING... GET OUT OF THE WATER AND TO SHORE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AVOID AREAS OF FLASH FLOODING. ...TORNADOES ARE NATURES MOST VIOLENT STORMS. IN A HOME...THE BEST SHELTER IS IN THE BASEMENT UNDER HEAVY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...GET TO THE CENTER OF THE HOUSE ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. GET INTO A SHORT-SPANNED STRUCTURE SUCH AS A CLOSET...INTERIOR HALL OR A WINDOWLESS BATHROOM. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS. PROTECT YOUR HEAD WITH WHATEVER YOU CAN...A HEAVY BLANKET OR EVEN YOUR HANDS. IN A SCHOOL...OFFICE OR OTHER TYPE OF INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING...GO QUICKLY TO A BASEMENT IF AVAILABLE. IF NONE...GO TO A CENTRAL HALL OR CORRIDOR ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. KEEP AWAY FROM OUTSIDE WALLS...DOORS AND WINDOWS. STAY OUT OF LONG-SPANNED STRUCTURES SUCH AS SHOPPING MALLS... AUDITORIUMS...AND GYMNASIUMS. IF CAUGHT THERE...GET UNDER OR NEXT TO SOMETHING STURDY OR SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY BATHROOM. DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE AWAY FROM A TORNADO. IF IN A CAR OR MOBILE HOME... SEEK SHELTER ON FOOT TO THE NEAREST REINFORCED BUILDING. IN OPEN COUNTRY...GET INTO A DITCH...DEPRESSION OR CULVERT. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME...WHETHER IT IS TIED DOWN OR NOT...ABANDON IT AND GO TO A COMMUNITY SHELTER OR REINFORCED BUILDING. OTHERWISE GET TO A LOW LYING SPOT IN THE GROUND AND PROTECT YOUR HEAD.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Bismarck, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 8:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Bowman | 66 min |
| Aug 3, 10:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Billings | 33 min |
| Aug 3, 10:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Slope | 40 min |
| Aug 3, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McIntosh | 60 min |
| Aug 3, 11:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Dunn, McKenzie | 52 min |
| Aug 3, 11:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Hettinger | 48 min |
| Aug 3, 11:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Burleigh, Kidder | 63 min |
| Aug 4, 12:33 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Stutsman | 42 min |
| Aug 4, 12:46 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Foster | 59 min |
| Aug 4, 1:03 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Mercer, Oliver | 72 min |
| Aug 4, 2:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Foster, Stutsman | 56 min |
| Aug 4, 3:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Stutsman | 62 min |
| Aug 4, 4:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Stutsman | 42 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.