Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 20, 2005Grand Forks County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2005, 4:39 PM CDT for Grand Forks County, North Dakota. It was in force for 36 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
May 20, 2005, 4:39 PM CDT (21:39 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 2005, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Grand Forks County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:41 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 286 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 2005-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 184 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 2005-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 6 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
184 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-180 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1509 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
109 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KFGF 202139
TORFGF
NDC035-202215-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0007.050520T2139Z-050520T2215Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
439 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 436 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 2 MILES SOUTH OF HOLMES...OR 19
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRAND FORKS...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  THOMPSON AT 450 PM

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4786 9737 4769 9736 4769 9693 4786 9704

$$
GV
2 follow-up statements
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202157
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
457 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

NDC035-202215-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-050520T2215Z/
GRAND FORKS ND-
457 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN
GRAND FORKS COUNTY...

AT 453 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION.  THE TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR
REYNOLDS...OR 15 MILES SOUTH OF GRAND FORKS...MOVING TO THE EAST AT
30 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL SOUTHEASTERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY AT 510 PM CDT

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 4786 9737 4769 9736 4769 9693 4786 9704

$$
GV
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202215
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

NDC035-202225-
/O.EXP.KFGF.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-050520T2215Z/
GRAND FORKS ND-
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN GRAND FORKS COUNTY EXPIRED AT
515 PM CDT...

DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE STORM WAS MOVING INTO POLK COUNTY AND 
THE WARNING WAS ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 515 PM CDT.

LAT...LON 4786 9737 4769 9736 4769 9693 4786 9704

$$
GV

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 4:09 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFSteele37 min
May 20, 4:24 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFTraill51 min
May 20, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGrand Forks40 min
May 20, 4:56 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFCass64 min
May 20, 5:46 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFRichland44 min
May 20, 5:55 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFCass33 min
May 20, 6:25 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes50 min
May 20, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFRichland60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 2005Every tornado warning in 2005Tornadoes in 2005

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.