Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 20, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Sep 4, 1996, 8:19 PM CDT for McKenzie County, North Dakota. It was in force for 26 min. 3 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
- Sep 4, 1996, 8:19 PM CDT (01:19 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 4, 1996, 8:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County McKenzie County, ND
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 8:25 PM CDT | Hail 2.75 | Watford City, ND | |
| Sep 4, 8:25 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Keene, ND | |
| Sep 4, 8:30 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Blue Butte, 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, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 230 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
- 2037 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -91 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1838 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 58 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 338 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 8.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KISN 050125 COR TORISN NDC053-050145- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTION... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 819 PM CDT WED SEP 4 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILLISTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WEST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ...NORTHEASTERN MCKENZIE COUNTY AT 815 CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KEENE OR 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF WATFORD CITY. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH. PEOPLE IN THE AREA OF KEENE SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY! THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT. WIGHTMAN
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, Sep 4, 4:14 PM CDT, 4 hours 5 minutes before
NDZ004-042145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 415 PM CDT WED SEP 4 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR BOTTINEAU COUNTY WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 415 PM CDT... AT 410 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING FOR BOTTINEAU COUNTY HAS SINCE WEAKENED AND IS MOVING INTO CANADA. THE STORM IS LOCATED ABOUT 10 MILES NORTH OF BOTTINEAU AND IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. HINTZ
Local storm report, Sep 4, 4:19 PM CDT, 4 hours before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
418 PM CDT WED SEP 04 1996
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
115 PM E. DIVIDE AND W. BURKE ND PEA TO 3/4 INCH HAIL.
130 PM E. DIVIDE POSSIBLE SMALL TORNADO 3 MILES
WEST AND 1 MILE SOUTH OF
NOONAN...ND.
145 PM W. BURKE PEA TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.
WIGHTMANThe office that day
Everything else NWS Bismarck, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 7:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 55 min |
| Sep 4, 7:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 46 min |
| Sep 4, 7:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 65 min |
| Sep 4, 8:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Billings, Golden Valley | 68 min |
| Sep 4, 8:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | Dunn, Mountrail | 60 min |
| Sep 4, 8:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 61 min |
| Sep 4, 9:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | McLean, Mercer | 69 min |
| Sep 4, 9:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Dunn | 69 min |
| Sep 4, 9:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 65 min |
| Sep 4, 10:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Mountrail | 60 min |
| Sep 4, 10:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McHenry | 58 min |
| Sep 4, 10:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Ward | 58 min |
| Sep 4, 10:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 62 min |
| Sep 4, 11:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Williams | 56 min |
| Sep 4, 11:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Ward | 42 min |
| Sep 5, 12:18 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | McHenry, Pierce | 57 min |
| Sep 5, 12:50 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Williams | 55 min |
| Sep 5, 1:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Burke | 60 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.