Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 3, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1997, 7:50 PM CDT for Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 25 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, 1997, 7:50 PM CDT (00:50 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1997, 8:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cass County, ND
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:50 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 7:53 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Buffalo, 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, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 243 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 590 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -54 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2608 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 59 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 110 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
023 WUUS1 KFAR 180050 RRA SVRFAR NDC017-180115- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 750 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA ...SOUTHERN CASS COUNTY AT 748 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TOWER CITY OR 20 MILES EAST OF VALLEY CITY. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORM WILL REACH EMBDEN NORTH DAKOTA AROUND 810 PM CDT. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. HOPPES
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 May 17, 3:15 PM CDT, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 17, 3:15 PM CDT, 4 hours 35 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
300 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997
SVR WX POTENTIAL IS THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM TONIGHT. VIS AND IR
SATELLITE IMAGERY ALONG WITH KMVX SHOW THAT MOST OF THE SHRA ACTIVITY
HAS MOVED EAST OF CWA WITH SOME CU DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL ND. SFC LOW
CURRENTLY CENTERED NEAR MOT WITH ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING
THROUGH CENTRAL NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA...WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE
SOUTHEAST THIS EVENING. WITH THE TRACK OF THE LOW ON THIS MORNING'S
12Z MODEL RUN A LITTLE FARTHER WEST THAN EARLIER...THE MAIN SEVERE
WEATHER THREAT APPEARS TO HAVE SHIFTED SLIGHTLY SOUTH INTO WC MN...EC
AND SE ND. BY 00Z...GRIDDED DATA SHOWS -4 LI'S WITH THETA-E RIDGE AND
STRONGEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE INTO SE ND. ONLY FEATURE STILL LIMITED
IS MOISTURE. HOWEVER...WITH 40-50 DEWPOINTS POOLING TO WEST AND SOUTH
OF THE CWA. ALSO...LATEST ADAP CHARTS INDICATE LOWEST CAP STRENGTH AND
BEST MOSITURE CONVERGENCE JUST TO WEST OF CWA. THEREFORE...EXPECT
STORMS TO DEVELOP JUST TO THE WEST OF CWA EARLY THIS EVENING AND THEN
PROGRESS SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH SOUTHERN CWA. FORECAST SUGGESTIONS
FOLLOW:
FOR ND: GOT WRKZFP.
DVL: SUGGEST LOW 40 TO 45 AND WOULD GO SE ON WIND INSTEAD
OF W. REST OK.
GFK: LOOKS FINE.
FAR: WOULD GO SE ON WIND INSTEAD OF S. REST OK.
FOR MN: HCO/ROX/BDE: MC...SCATTERED SHOWERS THIS EVENING WITH A
THUNDERSTORM POSSIBLE BEFORE MIDNIGHT...LOW
AROUND 40...SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15.
TVF/FSE/BJI: BECMG MC WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING...LOW AROUND 45...WIND SE 5 TO 15.
DTL/FFM/PKD: BECMG MC WITH THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING...SOME
POSSIBLY SEVERE...LOW AROUND 50...WIND SE 5 TO 15
MPH BECMG W 10 TO 20 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
NG
JIn the hours before
Special weather statement, May 17, 5:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before
NDZ038-039-049-052-053-172345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 546 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL ROLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING... DURING THE NEXT 3 HOURS THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM VALLEY CITY TO WAHPETON. AT 540 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING IN LAMOURE AND STUTSMEN COUNTIES. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE CITIES OF LISBON AND FORMAN DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. THE STORMS COULD CONTAIN HAIL AND STRONG WINDS AS THEY MOVE THROUGH RANSOM AND SARGENT COUNTIES. LOW PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER TONIGHT. ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS SUGGEST THAT SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE SLHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. BELLES
Special weather statement, May 17, 5:46 PM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
NDZ038-039-049-052-053-172345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 546 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL ROLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING... DURING THE NEXT 3 HOURS THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM VALLEY CITY TO WAHPETON. AT 540 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING IN LAMOURE AND STUTSMEN COUNTIES. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE CITIES OF LISBON AND FORMAN DURING THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. THE STORMS COULD CONTAIN HAIL AND STRONG WINDS AS THEY MOVE THROUGH RANSOM AND SARGENT COUNTIES. LOW PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER TONIGHT. ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS SUGGEST THAT SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA ARE URGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. BELLES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 7:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Sargent | 36 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.