Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 13, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 2002, 6:13 PM CDT for Benson County, North Dakota. It was in force for 32 min. 3 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 31, 2002, 6:13 PM CDT (23:13 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 31, 2002, 6:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Benson County, ND
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 6:18 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Leeds, ND | |
| Jul 31, 6:18 PM CDT | Hail 2 | Leeds, ND | |
| Jul 31, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Leeds, ND | A brief tornado touchdown snapped off several large tree branches. A farmer saw a brief swirling of dust near a tree row with a funnel above. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 3:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 192 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
- 307 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -525 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1640 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 97 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 161 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
161 WFUS53 KFGF 312313 TORFAR NDC005-312345- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS 611 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHERN BENSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. * UNTIL 645 PM CDT. * AT 609 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 3 MILES SOUTH OF LEEDS... OR ABOUT 26 MILES WEST OF DEVILS LAKE...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... BRINSMADE AT 615 PM. A TORNADO WAS REPORTED 3 MILES SOUTH OF LEEDS AT 600 PM. TWO INCH HAIL WAS REPORTED IN LEEDS AT 6:10 PM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A STURDY BUILDING. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. LAT...LON 4835 9949 4818 9955 4812 9925 4830 9922 30 NNNN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 3:36 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Sargent | 39 min |
| Jul 31, 4:13 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Richland, Sargent | 47 min |
| Jul 31, 4:59 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Richland | 31 min |
| Jul 31, 6:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FGF | Ramsey | 42 min |
| Jul 31, 6:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Benson | 44 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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.