Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 95, NWS Grand Forks, ND

June 28, 1997Ransom County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 28, 1997, 8:18 AM CDT for Ransom County, North Dakota. It was in force for 27 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, 1997, 8:18 AM CDT (13:18 UTC)
Expired
Jun 28, 1997, 8:45 AM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

County Ransom County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:21 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, 8:35 AM CDTTornado F0Ft Ransom, 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 12:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 182 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, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 1997-06-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3944 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, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 1997-06-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -36 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
3944 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-170 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
854 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 281318 RRA
SVRFAR
NDC073-281345-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
818 AM CDT SAT JUN 28 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
 
   ...WESTERN RANSOM COUNTY
 
AT 815 DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF FORT RANSOM...OR 40 MILES SOUTH OF VALLEY CITY. THE STORM WAS MOVING
EAST AT 10 MPH. THE TOWN OF ENGLEVALE IS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL.
 
REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCArSIONALLY 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 Jun 28, 2:56 AM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 28, 2:56 AM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
250 AM CDT SAT JUN 28 1997

UNFORTUNATELY...DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER AND FLOODING HAVENT BEEN ABLE
SPEND ALOT OF TIME LOOKING AT DATA. FOR FIRST PERIOD MODELS DEVELOP A
WARM FRONT ACROSS CENTRAL MINNESOTA FROM LOW OVER SD WITH MAIN THREAT
FOR HEAVY RAIN AND SEVERE WX FOCUSED ON THIS REGION FROM QPF AND SWO
PROGS.  HOWEVER AM STILL CONCERNED ABOUT THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN/FLOODING
AND PSBL SVR WX LATER TODAY. WITH TDS FORECAST TO REMAIN IN THE MID TO
UPPER 60S AND RESIDUAL BOUNDARIES FROM OVERNIGHT CONVECTION ANY SFC
HEATING TODAY MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS. NGM LI'S ALSO KEEP MOST OF REGION
QUITE UNSTABLE WITH LI'S FROM -4 TO -8. SUGGEST KEEPING FLASH FLOOD
WATCH IN MOST OF REGION FOR TODAY. ALSO MAY HAVE TO MENTION THE RISK OF
SEVERE FOR SOUTH HALF OF CWFA. MOST ALL OF CWFA EXCEPT FOR MAYBE DVL
AREA HAS A FAIR CHANCE FOR TSRA. WITHOUT HAVING LOOKED AT MUCH MOS
TEMPS SEEM REASONABLE GENERALLY LOWER TO MID 80S FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.
VOELKER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 28, 6:30 AM CDT, 1 hour 48 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-291200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
630 AM CDT SAT JUN 28 1997

..THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA STARTING THIS
AFTERNOON...

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE...CENTERED IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA...HAS AN
ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT WHICH EXTENDS ACROSS CENTRAL MINNESOTA.  THIS LOW
WILL REMAIN FAIRLY STATIONARY TODAY...PROVIDING PLENTY OF MOISTURE TO
THE REGION AND THE WARM FRONT WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT. AS A RESULT...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH OF A NEW ROCKFORD TO GRAND FORKS TO BEMIDJI LINE
TODAY AND TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN SEVERE
WEATHER THREATS.

IN ADDITION...THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL CONTINUES THROUGH TODAY
WITH A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR TODAY FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA.  THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH
INCLUDES THE CITIES OF WAHPETON...VALLEY CITY...MAYVILLE...GARND
FORKS...THIEF RIVER FALLS...BEMIDJI AND CROOKSTON.

AN UPDATED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED THIS AFTERNOON IF
CONDITIONS WARRANT.

NG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 27, 9:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson25 min
Jun 27, 9:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson35 min
Jun 27, 10:05 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFNelson25 min
Jun 27, 10:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks34 min
Jun 27, 10:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks38 min
Jun 27, 11:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTraill40 min
Jun 27, 11:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson30 min
Jun 27, 11:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks27 min
Jun 27, 11:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFNelson25 min
Jun 27, 11:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTraill36 min
Jun 28, 12:08 AM CDTTornado WarningFGFGrand Forks, Steele32 min
Jun 28, 12:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele33 min
Jun 28, 1:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele32 min
Jun 28, 8:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom28 min
Jun 28, 9:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom, Sargent38 min
Jun 28, 10:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland, Sargent31 min
Jun 28, 11:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland28 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.