Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 7, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 17, 1996Barnes County, Ransom County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1996, 1:29 AM CDT for Barnes County, Ransom County, North Dakota. It was in force for 31 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
May 17, 1996, 1:29 AM CDT (06:29 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 1996, 2:00 AM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Barnes County, ND, Ransom County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:28 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 17, 1:40 AM CDTThunderstorm WindValley City, 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

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 204 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, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1996-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2716 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Aberdeen, SD at 00:00Z on 1996-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 198 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2716 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
898 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
198 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
421 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
5.4
Supercell composite
17.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 170630
SVRFAR
NDC003-NDC073-170700-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ND
129 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  200 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...BARNES COUNTY...RANSOM COUNTY
 
AT 130 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING FROM WIMBLEDON TO LITCHVILLE AND LAMOURE...OR 20 MILES
NORTHWEST TO 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF VALLEY CITY. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE
MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.
 
THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH VALLEY CITY BY 135 AM...AND FORT RANSOM AND
LISBON BETWEEN 140 AND 2 AM.  PEOPLE IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD PREPARE
FOR DAMAGING WINDS.  THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING 60 TO 80
MPH WINDS.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERS`TORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
 
JB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 11:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRamsey, Walsh38 min
May 17, 12:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBenson26 min
May 17, 1:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes29 min
May 17, 4:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSargent28 min
May 17, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSargent24 min
May 17, 5:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSargent36 min
May 17, 5:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom, Richland29 min
May 17, 6:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland27 min
May 17, 6:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland29 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.