Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Grand Forks, ND

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

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 26, 1998, 8:17 PM CDT for Pembina County, Walsh County, North Dakota. It was in force for 33 min. 3 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, 8:17 PM CDT (01:17 UTC)
Expired
Aug 26, 1998, 8:50 PM CDT
In force
33 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 01:21 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
Aug 26, 8:43 PM CDTHail 1.75Grafton, ND
Aug 26, 8:43 PM CDTHail 2.75Grafton, NDBaseball-sized hail fell at Oakwood, ND, breaking windows and damaging cars.
Aug 26, 8:43 PM CDTHail 1Grafton, NDOne inch hail fell at Auburn, 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, 1.3 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.

153 
WFUS1 KFAR 270119 RRA
TORFAR
NDC067-099-270150-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 850 PM CDT

* AT 818 PM CDT...RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATED A TORNADO ON THE
PEMBINA/WALSH COUNTY LINE 8 MILES NORTH OF GRAFTON. MOVEMENT WAS
TOWARDS THE EAST   15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  TO THE NORTH OF GRAFTON ALONG HIGHWAY 81 THROUGH 830 PM CDT
  DRAYTON AT 840 PM CDT

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A STAIRWAY OR A PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.

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, 7:49 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFPembina, Walsh31 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.