Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 131, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 19, 1997Grand Forks County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 19, 1997, 3:02 PM CDT for Grand Forks County, North Dakota. It was in force for 28 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
Jul 19, 1997, 3:02 PM CDT (20:02 UTC)
Expired
Jul 19, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Grand Forks County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:03 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 19, 2:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 276 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 1997-07-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1357 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 1997-07-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -76 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1357 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
930 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-62 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

408 
WUUS1 KFAR 192003 RRA
SVRFAR
NDC035-192030-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
302 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...WESTERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY
 
AT 300 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NEAR
NIAGARA....40 MILES WEST OF GRAND FORKS...MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN
HOUR. THIS STORM WILL AFFECT THE TOWNS OF NIAGARA AND MCCANNA.
 
REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO
PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.
 
BELLES

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 19, 2:45 PM CDT, 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 2:45 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
245 PM CDT FRI JUL 19 1997

TSTMS HV DVLPG JUST BEHIND SFC WNDSHFT LN.  SFC DWPNTS NOW RCHG 70 ALG
RRV.  BASED ON MDL GUID BST MSTR CONVERGENCE AND THERMODYNAMICS INVOF
THE TRIPLE POINT THRU THIS EVENING. THIS SHOULD PLACE SVR THREAT MOSTLY
INTO SD AND SRN MN ALTHO FRMG LN COULD PRODUCE SOME PRBLMS HENCE THE
SVR WATCH. KMVX VAD WND SHOWING RELATIVE WK LOW AND MID LVL WNDS SOME
HVY RN IS LKLY ALTHO RELATIVELY FAST FCST MOVEMENT OF LN SHOULDN/T
RESULT IN ANY WDSPRD FLASH FLOODING.  MDLS FINALLY IN SOME AGREEMENT
THRU 36 HRS INDICATING AN ACCELERATING FRNT THRU THE CWFA TNGT.  APRS
CLRG AREA OVR NWRN NODAK SHOULD RCH WRN PTNS OF THE CWFA BY MIDNIGHT
AND THE RRV A FEW HRS AFTR.  CLRG SHOULD BCM EVIDENT OVER BJI/BDE AREAS
TWD MORNING.

SUGG
DVL/LANGDON...BECOMING CLEAR.  LOW NR 55.  WIND NW 5 TO 15
NERN NODAK....TSTMS THRU THIS EVENG. CLRG AFT MIDNITE. LOW NR 60. WND
BCMG NW 5 TO 15
SERN NODAK...TSTMS THRU DARK. SOME LCLLY HVY RN.  CLRG AFTR
MIDNITE. LOW NR 60. WND BCMG NW 5 TO 15.
NWRN MN...TSTMS TIL MIDNITE. CLRG LATE.  LOW NR 60.  WND S BCMG NW 5 TO
15 MPH.
WC MN...TSTMS TIL MIDNITE. CLRG LATE. LOW NR 60.  WND S BCMG NW 5 TO 15
MPH.

 BELLES

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 19, 12:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-192200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1250 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 1997

...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER EXISTS TO THE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
LISBON NORTH DAKOTA TO WADENA MINNESOTA.

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE...CENTERED NEAR SISSETON SOUTH DAKOTA...WILL
CONTINUE TO MOVE VERY SLOWLY EAST THIS AFTERNOON.  WITH PLENTY OF
ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE AVAILABLE...THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP.

AT 1245 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS WERE
DEVELOPING BOTH IN THE VICINITY OF THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...AND
NORTHWARD ALONG A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA. FOR MOST OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY
RAIN AND LIGHTNING...HOWEVER FOR THE SLIGHT RISK AREA THERE IS THE
POSSIBILITY OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

 BELLES/BOHORQUEZ
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 12:51 PM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-192200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1250 PM CDT SAT JUL 19 1997

...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER EXISTS TO THE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
LISBON NORTH DAKOTA TO WADENA MINNESOTA.

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE...CENTERED NEAR SISSETON SOUTH DAKOTA...WILL
CONTINUE TO MOVE VERY SLOWLY EAST THIS AFTERNOON.  WITH PLENTY OF
ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE AVAILABLE...THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP.

AT 1245 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS WERE
DEVELOPING BOTH IN THE VICINITY OF THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...AND
NORTHWARD ALONG A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA. FOR MOST OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE HEAVY
RAIN ApND LIGHTNING...HOWEVER FOR THE SLIGHT RISK AREA THERE IS THE
POSSIBILITY OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

 BELLES/BOHORQUEZ

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.