Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 164, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 31, 2002Eddy County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 31, 2002, 11:41 PM CDT for Eddy County, North Dakota. It was in force for 49 min. 1 report 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 31, 2002, 11:41 PM CDT (04:41 UTC)
Expired: Aug 1, 2002, 12:30 AM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Eddy County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:42 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 31, 11:45 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	New Rockford, ND	Trees were blown down in New Rockford.

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

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 155 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: 1400 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2219 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 144 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

153 
WUUS53 KFGF 010441
SVRFAR
NDC027-010530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
1141 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  EDDY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.

* UNTIL 1230 AM CDT.

* AT 1137 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 16 MILES WEST OF NEW ROCKFORD...OR ABOUT 43
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF DEVILS LAKE...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 60
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...

  NEW ROCKFORD AT 1150 PM AND
  BRANTFORD AT MIDNIGHT.

REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM THURSDAY
MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4771 9953 4754 9952 4754 9851 4779 9854

23
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 31, 8:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
855 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002

FORECAST CHALLENGE FOR TONIGHT IS SEVERE WEATHER. KMVX HAS NUMEROUS
SEVERE STORMS MOVING THROUGH E ND INTO NW MN. WITH COLD FRONT
EXTENDING THROUGH ND ALONG A LANGDON TO BAKER TO BISMARCK LINE...
STILL HAVE A LONG TIME TO GO BEFORE EXPECT SEVERE TO BE OUT OF AREA.
WITH WATCH OVER DEVILS LAKE AREA EXPECTED TO EXPIRE AT 9 PM...AND
LINE OF SEVERE CLOSE TO EXIT THAT AREA...TIMING FOR WATCH EXPIRATION
LOOKS GOOD. REMAINDER OF AREA STILL UNDER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
UNTIL 1 AM...WITH LOADED GUN SOUNDINGS...STRONG SURFACE BOUNDARY...
JET SUPPORT...DARKENING ON WATER VAPOR STARTING TO SHOW UP...ETC
...SO WATCH FOR REMAINDER OF AREA UNTIL 1 AM STILL LOOKS GOOD.
CONSEQUENTLY...CURRENT FORECAST WELL IN HAND. WILL ONLY NEED TO MAKE
MINOR CHANGES.

.FGF...NONE.

NG

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 31, 6:21 PM CDT, 5 hours 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
621 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002

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

0600 PM    3 S LEEDS                 ND   TORNADO
07/31/02   BENSON                         BRIEF TOUCHDOWN REPORTED 3
                                          MILES SOUTH OF LEEDS BY
                                          SPOTTER

0611 PM    LEEDS                     ND   2.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

ME

Local storm report, Jul 31, 7:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
747 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002

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

0639 AM    CHURCHS FERRY             ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY

0610 PM    5 N LEEDS                 ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

0618 PM    LEEDS                     ND   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

0618 PM    4 E LEEDS                 ND   2.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

0627 PM    CHURCHS FERRY             ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY

0720 PM    2 N DEVILS LAKE           ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY                         WALL CLOUD

0720 PM    MADDOCK                   ND   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON                         GROUND COVERED TOTALLY
                                          WHITE

0730 PM    2 NW DEVILS LAKE          ND   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY

ME

Local storm report, Jul 31, 7:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
747 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002

...CORRECTED TIME OF FIRST REPORT...

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

0639 PM    CHURCHS FERRY             ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY

0610 PM    5 N LEEDS                 ND   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

0618 PM    LEEDS                     ND   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

0618 PM    4 E LEEDS                 ND   2.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON

0627 PM    CHURCHS FERRY             ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY

0720 PM    2 N DEVILS LAKE           ND   .75 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY                         WALL CLOUD

0720 PM    MADDOCK                   ND   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   BENSON                         GROUND COVERED TOTALLY
                                          WHITE

0730 PM    2 NW DEVILS LAKE          ND   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/31/02   RAMSEY

ME

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 31, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Ramsey	42 min
Jul 31, 7:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cavalier	41 min
Jul 31, 7:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Benson	42 min
Jul 31, 7:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Ramsey	39 min
Jul 31, 7:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Walsh	50 min
Jul 31, 8:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Grand Forks	54 min
Jul 31, 8:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Nelson	51 min
Jul 31, 8:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Walsh	49 min
Aug 1, 12:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Griggs	51 min
Aug 1, 12:40 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes, Steele, Traill	50 min
Aug 1, 12:53 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass	37 min
Aug 1, 1:33 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass	42 min
Aug 1, 1:37 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	23 min
Aug 1, 2:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass	49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 2002 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.