Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 178, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 5, 1997Grand Forks County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 5, 1997, 4:33 PM CDT for Grand Forks County, North Dakota. It was in force for 27 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
Aug 5, 1997, 4:33 PM CDT (21:33 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 1997, 5:00 PM CDT
In force
27 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 21:36 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
Aug 5, 4:43 PM CDTHail 0.75Grand Forks, ND
Aug 5, 4:54 PM CDTHail 0.75Inkster, ND
Aug 5, 5:08 PM CDTHail 0.75Inkster, 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 5, 4:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 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 1997-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 1997-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1463 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 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 KFAR 052133 RRA
SVRFAR
NDC035-052200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
433 PM CDT TUE AUG 5 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...NORTHERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY
 
AT 433 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM LOCATED 1
MILES NORTHEAST OF INKSTER...OR 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS.
GILBY... JOHNSTOWN AND HONEYFORD ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO
PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

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 Aug 5, 2:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 2:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 43 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
250 PM CDT TUE AUG 5 1997

FCST CONCERN WILL BE SVR TSRA DEVELOPMENT INTO EARLY PART OF PERIOD.
SFC LOW HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS NE ND/S MB BORDER WITH TRAILING COLD FRONT
ACROSS NORTH PART OF STATE. ALL MORNING AND INTO AFTERNOON HOURS SCT
TSRA HAVE OCCURRED MAINLY ALONG N/S ORIENTED THERMAL BOUNDARY OVR
NORTHERN MN. WITH RAIN AND CLOUD COOLED AIR TEMPS ACROSS PTNS OF N MN
REMAIN GENERALLY IN THE 60S TO AROUND 70 DEGREES. ALTHOUGH A SEVERE
THREAT CONT FOR NW MN BELIEVE BEST AREA HAS SHIFTED WESTWARD TO INCLUDE
MOST OF ND. ALTHOUGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS MARGINAL 60-65 DEGREE
DEWPOINTS EXIST ACROSS N CENTRAL ND INTO S MB NEAR SFC LOW. PLENTY OF
SOLAR HAS RISEN TEMPS INTO THE UPPER 70S AND 80S ACROSS ND. VERTICAL
SHEAR PROFILE ALSO CONDUSIVE FOR SVR WX. FROM PROGGED FAR SOUNDING TSRA
SHOULD TRACK SE AROUND 30KT. TSRA SHOULD MOVE OUT OF S PTN OF REGION BY
MID FOLLOWED BY DECREASING CLDS. MOS TEMPS FROM MID 50S TO AROUND 60
SEEM REASONABLE. WITH WK SFC FLOW AND CLEARING LATE AREAS OF FOG PSBL.
FOR DVL...THIS EVENING...SCT TSRA FEW PSBL SEVERE.
          TONIGHT...DEC CLDS. LOW MID 50S N 5 TO 10.
GFK...THIS EVENING...SCT TSRA FEW PSBL SEVERE.
      TONIGHT...DEC CLDS. LOW MID 50S. LT N WIND.
FAR...THIS EVENING...SCT TSRA FEW PSBL SEVERE.
      TONIGHT...DEC CLDS. LOW MID 50S. LT N WND.
MSP WRK ZONES LOOK OK.
VOELKER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 5, 1:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-061200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
145 PM CDT TUE AUG 05 1997

...SEVERE WEATHER MAY OCCUR TODAY OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WAS LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHEAST NORTH
DAKOTA/CANADIAN BORDER WITH A TRAILING COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REMAINDER
OF NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. EAST OF THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE CONTINUED ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA THROUGH THE
MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS. BECAUSE OF THE RAIN AND CLOUD COVER THE
AIRMASS ACROSS THIS AREA HAS BECOME FAIRLY STABLE.

ALTHOUGH A SEVERE STORM IS POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME WESTERN MINNESOTA
...THE MOST FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON HAS
SHIFTED WEST TO INCLUDE MOST OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF NORTH
DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON MOVING SOUTHEAST DURING THE EVENING HOURS. SOME
OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH THE PRIMARY CONCERN BEING LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. BECAUSE OF THE WIND PATTERN ALOFT...ISOLATED
TORNADOS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
VOELKER
Special weather statement, Aug 5, 1:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-061200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
145 PM CDT TUE AUG 05 1997

...SEVERE WEATHER MAY OCCUR TODAY OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WAS LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHEAST NORTH
DAKOTA/CANADIAN BORDER WITH A TRAILING COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REMAINDER
OF NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. EAST OF THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE CONTINUED ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA THROUGH THE
MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS. BECAUSE OF THE RAIN AND CLOUD COVER THE
AIRMASS ACROSS THIS AREA HAS BECOME FAIRLY STABLE.

ALTHOUGH A SEVERE STORM IS POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME WESTERN MINNESOTA
...THE MOST FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON HAS
SHIFTED WEST TO INCLUDE MOST OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF NORTH
DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON MOVING SOUTHEAST DURING THE EVENING HOURS. SOME
OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH THE PRIMARY CONCERN BEING LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. BECAUSE OF THE WIND PATTERN ALOFT...ISOLATED
TORNADOS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
VOELKER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 5, 3:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina36 min
Aug 5, 3:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina31 min
Aug 5, 4:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh38 min
Aug 5, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks32 min
Aug 5, 5:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTraill33 min
Aug 5, 6:51 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFCass29 min

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.