Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 479

June 19, 199727 counties in North Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 19, 1997, 3:45 PM CDT for 27 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jun 19, 1997, 3:45 PM CDT (20:45 UTC)
Expired: Jun 19, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 27 counties

Barnes County, ND, Benson County, ND, Cass County, ND, Cavalier County, ND, Dickey County, ND, Eddy County, ND, Foster County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, Kidder County, ND, LaMoure County, ND, Logan County, ND, McIntosh County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Pembina County, ND, Pierce County, ND, Ramsey County, ND, Ransom County, ND, Richland County, ND, Rolette County, ND, Sargent County, ND, Steele County, ND, Stutsman County, ND, Towner County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND, Wells County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:56 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.

Warnings issued inside it

13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 19, 4:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Towner	28 min
Jun 19, 4:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	31 min
Jun 19, 4:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grand Forks	27 min
Jun 19, 4:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Towner	16 min
Jun 19, 4:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Steele	38 min
Jun 19, 4:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	33 min
Jun 19, 5:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Steele	31 min
Jun 19, 5:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	38 min
Jun 19, 6:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass	36 min
Jun 19, 8:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Ransom	37 min
Jun 19, 8:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Ransom	24 min
Jun 19, 9:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Richland	27 min
Jun 19, 9:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Richland	30 min

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 215 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 14 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -233 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1521 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 0 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 0 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.

856 
WWUS9 KMKC 192027
SEL9  
MKC WW 192027
NDZ000-200300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 479
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
327 PM CDT THU JUN 19 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA                       

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 345 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES NORTH OF DEVILS LAKE NORTH DAKOTA TO 80
MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 478...

DISCUSSION...POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES EXPECTED TO
INCREASE THIS EVENING ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WHERE VERY
STRONG EXIT REGION DYNAMIC SUPPORT ASSOCIATED WITH APPROACHING 75
KT SPEED MAX WILL MAINTAIN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INFLOW AND RESULTING
DESTABILIZATION.  

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27045.


...CORFIDI

485,0971 455,0962 455,0993 485,1003

Nearby

Tornado Watches in North Dakota, 1997 Every tornado watch 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.