Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 34, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 25, 1999Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 25, 1999, 12:48 PM CDT for Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 32 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: Jul 25, 1999, 12:48 PM CDT (17:48 UTC)
Expired: Jul 25, 1999, 1:20 PM CDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties

County Cass County, ND

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 25, 1:00 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Fargo, 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
Jul 25, 11:00 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 243 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: 1810 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -229 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1757 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 134 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 158 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFAR 251749
TORFAR
NDC017-251820-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1248 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL AND EASTERN CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 120 PM CDT

* AT 1247 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FARGO OR 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  HORACE... MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  HORACE AT 1253 PM CDT
  FARGO AT 114 PM CDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO
ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A STURDY BUILDING.


pKENNEDY

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Jul 25, 10:25 AM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 10:25 AM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1025 AM CDT SUN JUL 25 1999

...FORECAST CHALLANGE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...

ATM IS CAPPED ATTM.  PULSE TYPE TSTMS ARE OCCURRING ALG SFC CDFNT WHICH
IS MOVG INTO RRV LATE THIS MORNING.  ISOLD TSTM PRODUCED LARGE HAIL NR
GFK AT 15Z. CAPES NEAR 5000 J/KG ARE ANTICPATED THIS AFTN ACRS MUCH OF
THE ERN HALF OF THE CWFA BASED ON MODIFIED SOUNDINGS. BEST MSTR
CONVERGENGE AND INSTABILITY IS EXPECTED TO BE LOCATED ACRS SERN ND AND
WCNTRL MN FROM 21Z TO 01Z. BLV ONLY ISOLD SVR TSTMS TIL LATER THIS AFTN
WHEN CAP IS BROKEN.  MESO ETA FCST OF FNTL POSITION IS VERY GOOD BASED
ON 15Z OBS. WILL CONT USING ITS FNTL FCST THRU 03Z. CURRENT HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK STILL HAS EXPECTED LOCATION AND TIMING ON TARGET SO
WILL NOT UPDATE ATTM. MAY WAIT TIL 18Z TO PIN-POINT MORE A SPECIFIC
AREA.  ZONES ARE ALREADY UPDATED.  MENTIONED 100-105 HEAT INDEX FOR
DTL-FFM AREA IN SPS.  DO NOT ANTICIPATE AN ADVISORY ATTM.

.FGF...NONE.
 BELLES

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 25, 8:36 AM CDT, 4 hours 12 minutes before

MNZ027-028-030>032-040-252035-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
836 AM CDT SUN JUL 25 1999

...EXPECT VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY TODAY...

TEMPERATURES IN THE LOWER 90S ALONG WITH HIGH HUMIDITY WILL RAISE
THE HEAT INDEX INTO THE LOWER 100S THIS AFTERNOON.  WITH THIS TYPE
OF EXTREME HEAT...CAUTION IS ADVISED.  CITIES AFFECTED BY THIS
EXTREME HEAT INCLUDE FERGUS FALLS...ELBOW LAKE...WADENA...AND
DETROIT LAKES.

AVOID HEAT STROKE.  DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS AND TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS
IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS.

 BELLES

Special weather statement, Jul 25, 9:42 AM CDT, 3 hours 6 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052-053-251510-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
942 AM CDT SUN JUL 25 1999

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CANCELLED...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 535 FOR NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS ARE
STILL EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE DAY. PLEASE CONTINUE
TfO MONITOR YOUR LOCAL RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS OR NOAA WEATHER
RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION CONCERNING THUNDERSTORMS THAT MAY
MOVE INTO YOUR AREA.

KENNEDY

Local storm report, Jul 25, 10:29 AM CDT, 2 hours 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
1029 AM CDT SUN JUL 25 1999

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1000 AM    3SE INKSTER               ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/25/99   GRAND FORKS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 25, 9:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grand Forks	35 min
Jul 25, 10:31 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	34 min
Jul 25, 10:37 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Walsh	33 min
Jul 25, 12:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass	26 min
Jul 25, 12:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Cass	32 min
Jul 25, 12:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	33 min
Jul 25, 12:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Ransom	35 min
Jul 25, 1:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Ransom	34 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes in 1999

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.