Alert archive / North Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Bismarck, ND

July 2, 2003Williams County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 2, 2003, 6:17 AM CDT for Williams County, North Dakota. It was in force for 63 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jul 2, 2003, 6:17 AM CDT (11:17 UTC)
Expired: Jul 2, 2003, 7:20 AM CDT
In force: 63 min
Issued by: NWS Bismarck, ND
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Williams County, ND

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

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 220 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 4155 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

275 
WUUS53 KBIS 021117
SVRISN
NDC105-021220-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
617 AM CDT WED JUL 2 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILLISTON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WILLIAMS COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 720 AM CDT

* AT 617 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 5 MILES WEST OF WILLISTON TO 22
  MILES NORTH OF WILLISTON... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40   MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  WILLISTON 620 AM CDT
  ZAHL AT 635 AM CDT
  APPAM AT 640 AM CDT
  ALAMO AT 645 AM CDT
  CORNITH AT 650 AM CDT

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

LAT...LON 4863 10403 4803 10403 4803 10385 4813 10372
          4815 10290 4863 10290

$$

THOMSON

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 Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 2, 2:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 2:45 AM CDT, 3 hours 32 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
245 AM CDT WED JUL 02 2003

MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TODAY AND THIS EVENING.

SHORT WAVE ENERGY FORECAST TO REACH THE FAR WESTERN AREAS THIS
MORNING. SURFACE BOUNDARY ALONG THE MT/ND BORDER WILL DRIFT EAST
REACHING CENTRAL CWA AROUND 18Z TODAY. VERY UNSTABLE AIR OVER
THE REGION WITH DEWPOINTS AROUND 60 WEST AND IN THE UPPER 60S
CENTRAL. LIFTED INDICES TO -8 AND MLCAPES TO 3000 J/KG PROGGED
OVER THE REGION EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. ALTHOUGH FAIRLY STRONG
CAP IN PLACE AT THIS TIME EXPECT THE SHORT WAVE ENERGY...UPPER LEVEL
FORCING AND SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL WEAKEN THE CAP THIS AFTERNOON.
WITH STRONG SURFACE HEATING AND INSTABILITY WILL SEE AN INCREASE
OF CONVECTION CENTRAL THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENTLY...CONVECTION OVER
EASTERN MT MAKING ITS WAY TO FAR WESTERN ND AT THIS TIME. THE BAMEX
FORECAST SHOWING THE MT CONVECTION HOLDING TOGETHER REACHING FAR
NORTHWESTERN CWA AROUND 12Z THEN WEAKEN SOME BY 18Z AS IT APPROACHES
CENTRAL CWA BUT BY 21Z CONVECTION BECOMES MORE NUMEROUS CENTRAL AND
EAST CENTRAL. SPC PLACES ALL CWA IN SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE.

ZONAL FLOW PATTERN DEVELOPS THURSDAY LASTING THRU THE REST OF THE
FORECAST PERIOD. DRY WEATHER AND COOLER TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED
AFTER TODAYS EVENT.

.BIS...NONE

RGT

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 2, 4:39 AM CDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before

NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-031000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
439 AM CDT WED JUL 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND THIS EVENING.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
ESPECIALLY CENTRAL. MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED

TURNER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 2, 3:27 AM CDT, 2 hours 50 minutes before

NDZ001-009-017-021020-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
327 AM CDT (227 AM MDT) WED JUL 2 2003

AT 325 AM CDT (225 AM MDT) LOCAL RADAR INDICATED TWO BANDS OF
THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN MONTANA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. THE
NORTHERN BAND WILL MOVE ACROSS DIVIDE AND MUCH OF WILLIAMS COUNTY
WHILE THE SOUTHERN BAND WILL MOVE OVER SOUTHERN MCKENZIE COUNTY.
WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND PERIODS
OF HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS THROUGH SUNRISE.

THOMSON

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 2, 5:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Williams	62 min
Jul 2, 6:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Divide	63 min
Jul 2, 6:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Burke, Mountrail	50 min
Jul 2, 8:31 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Bottineau, Renville	59 min
Jul 2, 9:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Ward	60 min
Jul 2, 9:16 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	McHenry	59 min
Jul 2, 9:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Bottineau, Rolette	64 min
Jul 2, 10:05 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Pierce	55 min
Jul 2, 10:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	McHenry	27 min
Jul 2, 10:35 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Rolette	55 min
Jul 2, 11:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Wells	47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in North Dakota, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.