Alert archive / North Dakota / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 31, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 8, 2001Barnes County, Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this flash flood warning at Aug 8, 2001, 9:03 PM CDT for Barnes County, Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr. 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 8, 2001, 9:03 PM CDT (02:03 UTC)
Expired
Aug 9, 2001, 3:05 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Whole counties

Counties Barnes County, ND, Cass County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:05 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 8, 10:25 PM CDTFlash FloodValley City, NDStreet flooding was reported and several cars stalled in the high water.
Aug 8, 11:00 PM CDTFlash FloodFargo, NDStreet flooding was reported along with several manhole covers blown off by the water pressure.

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, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 232 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 2001-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3840 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2001-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -51 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
3840 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1294 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.3
Supercell composite
-3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS53 KFGF 090206
FFWFAR
NDC003-017-090805-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
903 PM CDT WED AUG 8 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  BARNES COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA
  CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA   

* UNTIL 305 AM CDT

* AT 859 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN PUSHING THROUGH EASTERN BARNES
  COUNTY AND NORTHERN CASS COUNTY. THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE
  EASTWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF CASS COUNTY OVER THE NEXT FEW
  HOURS.

* DOPPLER RADAR ESTIMATES TWO INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN
  ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL BARNES COUNTY. RAINFALL RATES OF TWO TO
  THREE INCHES PER HOUR MAY CAUSE STREET...BASEMENT...AND OVERLAND
  FLOODING THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN THE DANGERS OF FLASH FLOODING
ARE HARD TO RECOGNIZE.

$$
FISCHER


&
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What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Aug 8, 2:02 PM CDT, 7 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 8, 2:02 PM CDT, 7 hours 1 minute before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
202 PM CDT WED AUG 8 2001

...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE THIS PACKAGE IS CONVECTION WITH FROPA AND
THEN EXTENT OF COOLDOWN THEREAFTER...

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW...
18Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED DOUBLE BARREL LOW STRUCTURE FROM EXTREME
SOUTHEAST MB PROVINCE TO NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. SCATTERED
CONVECTION FIRING AHEAD OF FEATURE AND ASSOCIATED TROUGH FROM
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA INTO MINNESOTA IN CONJUNCTION WITH STRONG
SURFACE-850MB WAA PUNCH...PER KMVX RADAR. FURTHER UPSTREAM PARENT
COLD FRONT WAS EVIDENT OVER NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA WITH GOOD
PRESSURE RISES NOTED IN WAKE OF BOUNDARY OVER MONTANA AND SASK
PROVINCE.

.FORECAST DETAILS...
THE GOOD NEWS IS MUCH WELCOME AND PROLONGED RELIEF ON THE WAY IN THE
FORM OF A STRONG COLD FRONT. HOWEVER...INITIALLY WE WILL HAVE TO THE
PAY THE PIPER IN THE PRICE OF SEVERE STORM THREAT THIS AFTN/EVE AS
INCREASING MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE AND MID-LEVEL COOLING ENHANCES
CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL IN CONJUNCTION WITH FROPA. SEE SPC SWODY1 FOR
FURTHER DETAILS. EXPECT POP THREAT TO END FROM NW TO SE TONIGHT.
ALIGNED FLOW AND TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT SHOULD LEAD TO ACTIVE
NORTHWEST FLOW LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY AS MUCH COOLER AND LESS
HUMID AIR ADVECTS INTO THE REGION. LINGERING CYCLONIC FLOW COUPLED
WITH GOOD THICKNESS COOLING PROBABLY WILL LEAD TO DIURNAL DRIVEN
BROKEN CU DECK FORMATION ON THURSDAY. THESE FACTORS SHOULD RESULT IN
THE MERCURY STRUGGLING TO RISE MUCH OUT OF THE LOW TO MID 70S. WILL
MAKE GAME TIME DECISION ON WHETHER TO LINGER HEAT ADVISORY THIS
EVENING ACROSS SOUTHEAST ZONES.

.EXTENDED...UPPER LOW DROPS SOUTHEAST INTO LOWER HUDSON BAY BY EARLY
MONDAY WITH NORTHERN PLAINS UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW REGIME. PATTERN
SHIFTS A BIT TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD AS ANOTHER LOW PROGGED TO
DROP INTO THE PACIFIC NW WITH UPPER RIDGE STARTING TO REBUILD OVER
THE CENTRAL US. SEVERAL WEAK WAVES IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW SAT NIGHT
AND SUN MAY BRING A FEW SHOWERS. MRF HINTING AT OVERNIGHT CONVECTION
MON NIGHT/EARLY TUE...BUT THIS IS A BIG CHANGE FROM YESTERDAY AND
WILL LEAVE DRY FOR NOW. MEX/FMR NUMBERS SHOWING BELOW NORMAL TEMPS
EARLY TRENDING BACK TOWARD NORMAL LATE IN THE PERIOD WHICH LOOKS
REASONABLE.

.FGF...HEAT ADVISORY THIS EVENING ALONG AND SOUTH OF A FAR-PKD LINE.

BERG/GODON

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 8, 7:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
722 PM CDT WED AUG 08 2001

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

0245 PM    6 NW PONSFORD             MN   60 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01   BECKER

0339 PM    AKELEY                    MN   62 MPH TSTM GUST
08/08/01   HUBBARD                        MEASURED MN DOT
                                          ROADSIDE SITE

0340 PM    PARK RAPIDS               MN   WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01   HUBBARD                        NUMEROUS TREES DOWN

0600 PM    2 SW MADDOCK              ND   1 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON

0620 PM    4 SW ESMOND               ND   1 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON

0620 PM    9 NW MADDOCK              ND   .88 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON                         4 INCH DIAMETER TREE
                                          BRANCHES ALSO DOWN

0623 PM    5 NE MADDOCK              ND   .75 INCH HAIL
08/08/01   BENSON                         4 INCH DIAMETER TREE
                                          BRANCHES ALSO DOWN

0640 PM    4 NW OBERON               ND   WIND DAMAGE
08/08/01   BENSON                         2 TREES BLOWN DOWN

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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 8, 7:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks, Nelson50 min
Aug 8, 7:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh46 min
Aug 8, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks46 min
Aug 8, 8:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes56 min
Aug 8, 8:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks, Traill36 min
Aug 8, 8:47 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFGrand Forks6 hr
Aug 8, 8:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass56 min
Aug 8, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes46 min
Aug 8, 9:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass, Ransom, Richland44 min
Aug 8, 10:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom31 min
Aug 8, 11:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom, Richland, Sargent52 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in North Dakota, 2001Every flash flood warning in 2001

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.