Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at May 17, 1998, 9:39 PM CDT for Benson County, North Dakota. It was in force for 46 min. 4 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
- May 17, 1998, 9:39 PM CDT (02:39 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1998, 10:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
County Benson County, ND
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 9:43 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Maddock, ND | |
| May 17, 10:00 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Niles, ND | |
| May 17, 10:04 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Leeds, ND | |
| May 17, 10:25 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Maddock, 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 4:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 176 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
- 493 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -56 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2753 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 25 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 55 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 180238 RRA TORFAR NDC005-180325- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 939 PM CDT SUN MAY 17 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WESTERN BENSON COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA * UNTIL 1025 PM CDT * AT 935 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH ESMOND OR 30 MILES WEST OF DEVILS LAKE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. *4 THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... JUST SOUTH OF ESMOND BY 945 PM CDT THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A STURDY BUILDING. WP
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 9:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Benson | 32 min |
| May 17, 10:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Towner | 28 min |
| May 17, 10:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Benson, Eddy, Ramsey | 29 min |
| May 17, 10:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Benson, Eddy | 33 min |
| May 17, 10:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Ramsey | 33 min |
| May 17, 11:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Eddy | 33 min |
| May 17, 11:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Nelson | 59 min |
| May 18, 12:44 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Grand Forks | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998
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.