Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Grand Forks, ND

June 28, 1996Pembina County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jun 28, 1996, 9:35 PM CDT for Pembina County, North Dakota. It was in force for 40 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
Jun 28, 1996, 9:35 PM CDT (02:35 UTC)
Expired
Jun 28, 1996, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Pembina County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:37 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
Jun 28, 9:40 PM CDTThunderstorm WindWalhalla, 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

International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 313 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 1996-06-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1765 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, International Fa, MN at 00:00Z on 1996-06-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 216 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
1765 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-37 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
971 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
282 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.2
Supercell composite
12.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 290236
TORFAR
NDC067-290315-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ND
935 PM CDT FRI JUN 28 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...PEMBINA COUNTY
 
AT 934 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 11 MILES WEST OF
CAVALIER NEAR CONCRETE...OR 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF GRAFTON. THE
THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.
 
A HAM RADIO SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD IN THIS AREA.
 
THE TORNADO WILL REACH CAVALIER BY 955 PM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR UNDER STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
IN A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET.  COVER YOURSELF
WITH BLANKETS...PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS.
 
JB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 28, 7:58 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFTowner32 min
Jun 28, 8:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCavalier30 min
Jun 28, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCavalier46 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.