Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 319, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 31, 2002, 8:32 PM CDT for Cavalier County, North Dakota. It was in force for 43 min. 2 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
- Aug 31, 2002, 8:32 PM CDT (01:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 31, 2002, 9:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Cavalier County, ND
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 8:43 PM CDT | Hail 0.88 | Osnabrock, ND | |
| Aug 31, 9:25 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Olga, 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.
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 7:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 285 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
- 1564 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2744 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 18 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 57 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
393 WUUS53 KFGF 010132 SVRFAR NDC019-010215- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 831 PM CDT SAT AUG 31 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EASTERN CAVALIER COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. * UNTIL 915 PM CDT. * AT 828 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OSNABROCK...OR ABOUT 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LANGDON...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... MILTON AT 835 PM AND OLGA AT 840 PM. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT SUNDAY MORNING FOR NORTHWEST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT SUNDAY MORNING FOR NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. LAT...LON 4869 9833 4853 9820 4859 9796 4891 9796 04 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 31, 1:57 PM CDT, 6 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 1:57 PM CDT, 6 hours 35 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 157 PM CDT SAT AUG 31 2002 ...FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY... .CURRENT OBSERVATIONS... BEST SURFACE CONVERGENCE AND PRESSURE FALLS OCCURRING ACROSS SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. AS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT...DEWPOINTS ARE HIGHER THAN MODEL GUIDANCE WITH MANY AREAS NEAR 70 DEGREES. .SHORT TERM... EXPECT THE FORECAST AREA(FA) TO BECOME VERY ACTIVE THIS EVENING AS SURFACE FRONT ARRIVES ALONG WITH POTENT SHORT WAVE. AVN/ETA IN GOOD AGREEMENT BRINGING PRECIPITABLE WATERS OF NEARLY 2 INCHES ACROSS PORTIONS OF CWA. 850MB 40 KT LLJ AND WARM AIR ADVECTION POINT TO THE BEST ORGANIZED STORM POTENTIAL ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE FA WITH LEAST POTENTIAL ACROSS THE DEVILS LAKE REGION. WITH NUMEROUS REGIONS RECEIVING HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS...WILL ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT FOR ENTIRE FA AND HIGHLIGHT THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF. .MID TERM... MOST OF SUNDAY WILL BE QUIET BEFORE THE NEXT FRONT AND WAVE COMES DOWN SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH THIS SYSTEM BUT IT WILL HAVE A MUCH DRIER ENVIRONMENT TO WORK WITH. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN MONDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY BRINGING A LULL IN THE ACTIVITY. .EXTENDED... NEW MRF/AVN LINING UP WITH OTHER EXTENDED RUNS IN MAINTAINING TROUGHING OVER WEST COAST VS MORE PROGRESSIVE SOLUTION OF PREVIOUS DAY. AS A RESULT REGION GOES BACK INTO SW FLOW ALOFT OVER SECOND HALF OF WORK WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND. SFC LOW REORGANIZES OVER WESTERN HIGH PLAINS WITH PIECES OF ENERGY BEING EJECTED FROM PARENT LOW OVER PACIFIC NW. FAVORED CHANCES FOR PCPN LOOK TO BE THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY AS FEATURES SHIFT EAST. BASED ON POSITION OF 850MB THERMAL RIDGE AND THICKNESS TEMPS SHOULD BE AT OR ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES UNTIL FROPA FRIDAY NIGHT. THANKS FOR COORDINATION...MSP...DLH...ABR...BIS .FGF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ENTIRE CWA TONIGHT DONAVON/VOELKER
In the hours before
Local storm report, Aug 31, 3:43 PM CDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
343 PM CDT SAT AUG 31 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0745 AM 8 N BEMIDJI MN .75 INCH HAIL
08/31/02 BELTRAMIThe office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 7:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 47 min |
| Aug 31, 7:22 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 4 hr |
| Aug 31, 7:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Pembina | 45 min |
| Aug 31, 7:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 34 min |
| Aug 31, 8:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 33 min |
| Aug 31, 8:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Pembina | 52 min |
| Aug 31, 9:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Benson, Towner | 45 min |
| Aug 31, 9:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 49 min |
| Aug 31, 9:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Benson, Ramsey, Towner | 62 min |
| Aug 31, 9:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Pembina | 43 min |
| Aug 31, 10:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 43 min |
| Aug 31, 10:07 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FGF | Cavalier, Pembina | 3 hr |
| Aug 31, 10:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Barnes, Griggs | 55 min |
| Aug 31, 10:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Pembina | 45 min |
| Aug 31, 10:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cavalier | 45 min |
| Aug 31, 10:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Cass | 53 min |
| Aug 31, 11:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Barnes | 30 min |
| Aug 31, 11:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Pembina | 42 min |
| Sep 1, 12:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Sargent | 47 min |
| Sep 1, 1:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Richland | 41 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.