Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 175, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 12, 2000Benson County, Ramsey County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 12, 2000, 12:04 AM CDT for Benson County, Ramsey County, North Dakota. It was in force for 46 min. 10 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 12, 2000, 12:04 AM CDT (05:04 UTC)
Expired: Aug 12, 2000, 12:50 AM CDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Benson County, ND, Ramsey County, ND

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 12, 12:10 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Maddock, ND	Tree branches were blown off in the Maddock area.
Aug 12, 12:25 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Maddock, ND	Tree branches were blown down.
Aug 12, 12:30 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Sheyenne, ND	Numerous trees were blown down in Sheyenne and a mobile home roof was damaged.
Aug 12, 12:30 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Minnewaukan, ND	Numerous trees were uprooted in Minnewaukan. One tree fell on a porch roof. Power was out for 5 hours.
Aug 12, 12:40 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Sheyenne, ND	The wind blew down tree branches.
Aug 12, 12:40 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Ft Totten, ND	The wind blew down large tree branches, damaged a barn roof, and moved an empty grain bin several feet.
Aug 12, 12:40 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Devils Lake, ND	68 consecutive power poles were damaged by the high winds across the Devils Lake area. This amounted to about 8 miles of line. Some of the damaged poles ended up on the bottom of Devils Lake, as the lines cut across several bays.
Aug 12, 12:45 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Devils Lake, ND	A large storage building was destroyed by the strong winds. A 16 ton semi truck was pushed 30 feet sideways into a pole.
Aug 12, 12:50 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 96 M	Devils Lake, ND	Strong winds hit the city of Devils Lake, toppling power poles, trees, signs, and light signals. Debris from a roof struck and injured a pedestrian. The 96 knot wind gust was measured at the Law Enforcement Center. A 40x60 foot steel building was thrown 150
Aug 12, 12:50 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Ft Totten, ND	Wind damage also occurred around the Fort Totten area. Several planned housing developments under construction sustained heavy damage. The Spirit Lake Casino also reported some damage.

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
Aug 11, 9:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 182 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: 2271 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 207 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 8.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KFGF 120506
SVRFAR
NDC005-027-071-120550-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND-GRAND FORKS
1204 AM CDT SAT AUG 12 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BENSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...
  WESTERN EDDY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...
  SOUTHWESTERN RAMSEY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF DEVILS LAKE

* UNTIL 1250 AM CDT

* AT 1159 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR 
INDICATED   THE LEADING EDGE OF A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG 
EXTENDING FROM 43 MILES WEST OF DEVILS LAKE TO 44 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
DEVILS LAKE...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  FLORA AT 1205 AM CDT...
  LEEDS AT 1210 AM CDT...
  NEW ROCKFORD AT 1215 AM CDT...
  CHURCHS FERRY AT 1220 AM CDT...

DURING THUNDERSTORMS YOU SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT
STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.

THIS LINE OF  THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WINDS IN 
EXCESS OF 60 MPH.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM CDT
SATURDAY MORNING FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4835 9976 4765 9958 4761 9883 4838 9885
          4835 9917

$$
BRAZZELL
NNNN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 11, 9:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 9:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
900 PM FRI AUG 11 2000

SW UPR LVL JET MOVG INTO SW MAN FCST TO MOV INTO WRN ONT BY MORN
WITH THE NRN COUNTIES IN THE RRQ. WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWING DARK BAND
FM CA INTO SW MAN AND SPREADING NE. SHORT WV OVR SRN SASK IS
REASONABLE. QUITE UNSTABLE ATMOS WITH LIS AS LOW AS -12 OVR N CNTRL
ND. SFC BASED CAPES 1500+ J/KG OVR NW COUNTIES ACCORDING TO THE MESO
ETA. HOWEVER CINS WERE ALSO FAIRLY HI. ETA MODEL SNDGS SHOW WM AIR
ARND 700 HPA WAS CREATING THE HI CINS. 700 HA CAA FCST OVR THE NRN
COUNTIES TNGT. BACKING WND PROFILE ENTERING SW MAN AND IS FCST TO
SHFT INTO SW ONT BY MORN. BACKING ALSO OCCURS ACRS ND TNGT BUT LAGS
THE CAA ACRS SRN MAN LEAVING LOW LVL CONVERGENCE ACRS THE NRN VLY BY
MIDN. MESO SCALE ANLYS HAS SFC PRES RISES MOVG INTO SW MAN AND NW
ND. GOOD SFC MSTR FLUX CONVERGENCE INDICATED FM NR BIS INTO TOWNER
COUNTY AS SFC WNDS HAVE BECM NW IN WRN ND. KMBX VAD WND HAD A LGT NW
WND IN THE FIRST 2 THSD FT. KBIS AND KMVX VAD WND HAD A SOUTH WND
30-35KTS BLO 5-6 THSD FT. NNW-SSE AXIS OF SFC MIXING RATIOS OF
16G/KG WAS OVR THE ERN HALF OF ND AND ADJ PARTS OF MN. FAST MOVG
TSRA HAS MOVD INTO NW ND AND TSRA HAVE DEVELOPED IN SE MAN JUST N OF
THE INTERNATIONAL BDR. SO WL FOCUS ON TSRA MAINLY OVR NRN COUNTIES
TNGT. WL CHECK ZONES.

.FGF...NONE.
HOPPES

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 11, 10:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Towner	29 min
Aug 12, 12:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Eddy	46 min
Aug 12, 12:51 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Benson, Nelson, Ramsey, Walsh	59 min
Aug 12, 12:51 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Eddy	59 min
Aug 12, 1:25 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Pembina, Walsh	30 min
Aug 12, 1:25 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grand Forks	30 min
Aug 12, 1:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Pembina, Walsh	30 min
Aug 12, 1:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grand Forks	30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 2000 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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.