Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Bismarck, ND

September 4, 1996Dunn County, Mountrail County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Sep 4, 1996, 7:45 PM MDT for Dunn County, Mountrail County, North Dakota. It was in force for 60 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
Sep 4, 1996, 7:45 PM MDT (01:45 UTC)
Expired
Sep 4, 1996, 8:45 PM MDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Dunn County, ND, Mountrail County, ND

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 4, 7:48 PM MDTHail 2.5New Town, ND
Sep 4, 7:50 PM MDTTornado F0New Town, 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, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 175 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 00:00Z on 1996-09-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2037 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1996-09-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 58 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KISN 050145
TORISN
NDC061-025-050245-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
845 PM CDT (745 PM MDT) WED SEP 4 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILLISTON HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  945 PM CDT (845 PM MDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...SOUTHERN MOUNTRAIL COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...NORTHERN DUNN COUNTY
 
AT 840 PM CDT... RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A TORNADO
TOUCHDOWN IN NORTHEAST MCKENZIE COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PRODUCED
THIS TORNADO IS MOVING EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH AND LOCATED 40 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF WILLISTON. TOWNS IN THE PATH OF STORM INCLUDE: NEW TOWN AND
SADDLE BUTTE. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER
IMMEDIATELY!
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LE6AVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
 
 
CARICO
&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Bismarck, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 4, 6:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcKenzie55 min
Sep 4, 6:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcKenzie46 min
Sep 4, 6:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcKenzie65 min
Sep 4, 7:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBillings, Golden Valley68 min
Sep 4, 7:19 PM MDTTornado WarningBISMcKenzie26 min
Sep 4, 7:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcKenzie61 min
Sep 4, 8:06 PM MDTTornado WarningBISMcLean, Mercer69 min
Sep 4, 8:21 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISDunn69 min
Sep 4, 8:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcKenzie65 min
Sep 4, 9:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMountrail60 min
Sep 4, 9:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry58 min
Sep 4, 9:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISWard58 min
Sep 4, 9:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcKenzie62 min
Sep 4, 10:19 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISWilliams56 min
Sep 4, 10:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISWard42 min
Sep 4, 11:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry, Pierce57 min
Sep 4, 11:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISWilliams55 min
Sep 5, 12:30 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurke60 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.