Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 31, 2002Ramsey County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 2002, 6:18 PM CDT for Ramsey County, North Dakota. It was in force for 42 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, 6:18 PM CDT (23:18 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 2002, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Ramsey County, ND

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 31, 6:50 PM CDTTornado F0Penn, NDA tornado touched down in a field, causing minimal crop damage.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 31, 3:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 208 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 12:00Z on 2002-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 307 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2002-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 97 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

304 
WFUS53 KFGF 312318
TORFAR
NDC071-010000-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  WESTERN RAMSEY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT.

* AT 614 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 12 MILES WEST OF PENN...OR
  ABOUT 23 MILES WEST OF DEVILS LAKE...MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 35
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...

  PENN AT 635 PM...
  WEBSTER AT 645 PM AND
  DEVILS LAKE AT 650 PM.

AT 6:00 PM...SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTH OF LEEDS.
VERY LARGE HAIL IS ALSO LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.


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 100 AM THURSDAY
MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM WEDNESDAY
EVENING FOR NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4834 9918 4817 9917 4807 9880 4832 9870 &

30
NNNN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 31, 3:36 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSargent39 min
Jul 31, 4:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland, Sargent47 min
Jul 31, 4:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland31 min
Jul 31, 6:13 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBenson32 min
Jul 31, 6:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBenson44 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.