Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Bismarck, ND

July 25, 1997Renville County, Ward County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 25, 1997, 2:54 PM CDT for Renville County, Ward County, North Dakota. It was in force for 51 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
Jul 25, 1997, 2:54 PM CDT (19:54 UTC)
Expired
Jul 25, 1997, 3:45 PM CDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Bismarck, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Renville County, ND, Ward County, ND

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 25, 2:55 PM CDTTornado F0Minot, NDbrief tornado touchdown 5 SW of Minot
Jul 25, 3:02 PM CDTTornado F0Mohall, NDtornado moved from 4 SW of Mohall to 5 SE of Mohall
Jul 25, 3:08 PM CDTTornado F0Minot, NDtornado moved from 8 S of Minot to 20 SE of Minot

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 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 201 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 655 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 35 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
655 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-252 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1262 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBIS 251953 RRA
TORBIS
NDC075-101-252030-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
254 PM CDT FRI JUL 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...RENVILLE COUNTY...WARD COUNTY
 
AT 253 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE MINOT AIRPORT.
MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 10 MPH. A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS NEAR MOHALL...35 MILES
NORTHWEST OF MINOT. MOVEMENT WAS ALSO EAST AT 10 MPH.
 
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.
 
JP MARTIN
 
&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 24, 7:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau, Rolette62 min
Jul 24, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISStark58 min
Jul 24, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry, Pierce59 min
Jul 24, 8:10 PM CDTTornado WarningBISPierce65 min
Jul 24, 8:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean65 min
Jul 24, 8:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISRolette49 min
Jul 24, 9:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry, Pierce57 min
Jul 24, 9:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean63 min
Jul 24, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry60 min
Jul 25, 2:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISKidder60 min
Jul 25, 2:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISEmmons56 min
Jul 25, 3:12 PM CDTTornado WarningBISBottineau63 min
Jul 25, 3:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISLogan, McIntosh61 min
Jul 25, 3:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISStutsman43 min
Jul 25, 3:49 PM CDTTornado WarningBISMcHenry, Ward51 min
Jul 25, 5:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISDickey52 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.