Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 22, NWS Bismarck, ND
NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Sep 4, 1996, 9:06 PM CDT for McLean County, Mercer County, North Dakota. It was in force for 69 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 4, 1996, 9:06 PM CDT (02:06 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 4, 1996, 10:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 69 min
- Issued by
- NWS Bismarck, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties McLean County, ND, Mercer County, ND
The radar
The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:06 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 101 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 KBIS 050206 TORBIS NDC055-057-050315- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 906 PM CDT (806 PM MDT) WED SEP 4 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT (915 PM MDT) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ...WESTERN MCLEAN COUNTY...NORTHWESTERN MERCER COUNTY AT 905 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SOUTHWEST OF NEW TOWN...OR ABOUT 60 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MINOT. THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THIS STORM WILL MOVE TO NEAR RAUB IN WESTERN MCCLEAN COUNTY BY 930 PM CDT. THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF TENNIS BALL SIZE HAIL AND TORNADOES. BOATERS ON CENTRAL AND EASTERN LAKE SAKAKAWEA SHOULD HEAD FOR SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. 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. FORS
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 52 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 47 minutes 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, 8:19 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BIS | McKenzie | 26 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, 9:21 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.