Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 121, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 2002, 11:26 AM CDT for Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 49 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 17, 2002, 11:26 AM CDT (16:26 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 17, 2002, 12:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Cass County, ND
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 11:35 AM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Tower City, ND | |
| Jul 17, 11:40 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Tower City, ND | Grain bins were damaged and trees were blown down in Tower City. Three of the city's 8 streets were blocked by trees and power was out for 4 hours. One tree fell on a church, causing substantial damage. |
| Jul 17, 12:10 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Alice, ND | |
| Jul 17, 12:10 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Alice, ND | Trees were blown down. |
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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 241 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 243 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -416 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2067 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 82 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
290 WUUS53 KFGF 171626 SVRFAR NDC017-171715- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 1125 AM CDT WED JUL 17 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... WESTERN AND CENTRAL CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. * UNTIL 1215 PM CDT. * AT 1121 AM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF BUFFALO...OR ABOUT 12 MILES NORTHEAST OF VALLEY CITY...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 20 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... BUFFALO AT 1150 AM... AYR AT 1155 AM... ERIE AT NOON AND CASSELTON AT 1215 PM. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. LAT...LON 4712 9769 4676 9766 4673 9719 4710 9716 06 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 Jul 17, 10:10 AM CDT, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 10:10 AM CDT, 1 hour 16 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 1010 AM CDT WED JUL 17 2002 ...MAIN CHALLENGE FOR THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES AND SKY COVER... .CURRENT OBSERVATIONS... MCS CURRENTLY MOVING INTO NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA ALONG TIGHT 850MB DEWPOINT GRADIENT. DO NOT EXPECT ANY FLOODING PROBLEMS WITH THIS FIRST ROUND OF PRECIPITATION. HOWEVER...AREAS THAT HAVE PRECIPITATION THIS MORNING WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED IF ANOTHER ROUND MOVES INTO THE AREA. TEMPERATURES AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM ARE NEAR 80 DEGREES FROM THE RED RIVER VALLEY AND POINTS EAST. MAY NEED TO BUMP TEMPERATURES UP FOR THE BEMIDJI AND FARGO ZONES AND BRING THUNDER IN A LITTLE EARLIER. WILL ADJUST CLOUD WORDING FOR DEVILS LAKE AREA TO BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. .FGF...FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR PORTIONS OF THE RED RIVER NEAR OSLO. FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE ENTIRE CWA. DONAVON
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 6:50 AM CDT, 4 hours 36 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-171300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 650 AM CDT WED JUL 17 2002 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... .SYNOPSIS...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME POSSIBLE SEVERE...ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND NORTH OF AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDRY AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES EAST ALONG THE BOUNDRY. THE OLD FRONTAL SYSTEM REMAINS STATIONARY FROM NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD. .AREA OF CONCERN...EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA SOUTH OF US HIGHWAY 2. .TIME...BEGINNING AFTER 2 PM IN THE DEVILS LAKE REGION AND SPREADING EAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING .TYPE OF HAZARD...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WITH ISOLATED TORNADOS POSSIBLE. KENNEDY
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 10:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Barnes | 45 min |
| Jul 17, 12:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cass | 30 min |
| Jul 17, 12:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Ransom, Richland | 59 min |
| Jul 17, 12:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Ransom, Richland | 54 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002
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.