Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 26, 1998Pembina County, Walsh County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 26, 1998, 7:49 PM CDT for Pembina County, Walsh County, North Dakota. It was in force for 31 min. 2 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 26, 1998, 7:49 PM CDT (00:49 UTC)
Expired
Aug 26, 1998, 8:20 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pembina County, ND, Walsh County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:52 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 26, 7:55 PM CDTHail 2St Thomas, NDThe hail lasted for 20 minutes and covered the ground.
Aug 26, 8:05 PM CDTHail 1.75St Thomas, 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

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 304 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 00:00Z on 1998-08-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 815 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 1998-08-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
815 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-201 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1685 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

971 
WFUS1 KFAR 270051 RRA
TORFAR
NDC067-099-270120-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
749 PM CDT WED AUG 26 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN PEMBINA COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
  NORTHERN WALSH COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 820 PM CDT

* AT 747 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO NEAR HOOPLE ALONG THE
  PEMBINA AND WALSH COUNTY LINE...OR 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF GRAFTON.
  MOVEMENT TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  HOOPLE AT 755 PM CDT
  NASH AT 810 PM CDT
  NEAR GRAFTON AT 820 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.

KELLENBENZ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 26, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina35 min
Aug 26, 7:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina34 min
Aug 26, 8:17 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFPembina, Walsh33 min
Aug 26, 8:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh32 min
Aug 26, 9:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh33 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.