Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 8, 2002Benson County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 8, 2002, 11:26 PM CDT for Benson County, North Dakota. It was in force for 49 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 8, 2002, 11:26 PM CDT (04:26 UTC)
Expired
Aug 9, 2002, 12:15 AM CDT
In force
49 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 8, 11:42 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 73 MMinnewaukan, ND
Aug 9, 12:01 AM CDTThunderstorm WindMinnewaukan, NDTrees and power lines were blown down. Some customers lost power for 10 hours.

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 nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 165 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 00:00Z on 2002-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 863 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2002-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 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
863 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1927 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

854 
WFUS53 KFGF 090426
TORFAR
NDC005-090515-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
1126 PM CDT THU AUG 8 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

  CENTRAL BENSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA.

* UNTIL 1215 AM CDT.

* AT 1119 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  MADDOCK...OR ABOUT 36 MILES WEST OF DEVILS LAKE...MOVEMENT WAS TO
  THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...

  MADDOCK AT 1130 PM...
  FLORA AT 1135 PM...
  MINNEWAUKAN AT 1205 AM AND
  BRINSMADE AT 1215 AM.

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 200 AM FRIDAY
MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA.

LAT...LON 4794 9976 4782 9957 4807 9911 4829 9931


06

NNNN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 8, 7:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTraill37 min
Aug 8, 7:30 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFTraill45 min
Aug 8, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks44 min
Aug 8, 8:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks38 min
Aug 8, 9:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh46 min
Aug 8, 10:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBenson, Eddy41 min
Aug 8, 11:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs40 min
Aug 8, 11:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBenson, Nelson, Ramsey60 min
Aug 8, 11:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFSteele46 min
Aug 9, 12:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCavalier, Ramsey41 min
Aug 9, 12:21 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFWalsh6 hr
Aug 9, 12:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFTowner51 min
Aug 9, 12:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina49 min
Aug 9, 12:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCavalier46 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.