Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Grand Forks, ND

May 20, 2005Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2005, 4:56 PM CDT for Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 64 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, 4:56 PM CDT (21:56 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 2005, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cass County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:58 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, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 257 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 202156
TORFGF
NDC017-202300-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0009.050520T2156Z-050520T2300Z/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 453 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PAGE...OR 25
  MILES NORTHEAST OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ERIE AT 510 PM
  ARTHUR AT 525 PM
  AMENIA AT 530 PM
  GARDNER AT 555 PM

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

LAT...LON 4720 9760 4705 9765 4694 9700 4716 9694

$$

JDS
4 follow-up statements
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202220
SVSFGF

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

NDC017-202300-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-050520T2300Z/
CASS ND-
519 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN CASS
COUNTY...

AT 514 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION.  THE TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR
WHEATLAND...OR 25 MILES WEST OF FARGO...MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25
MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CASSELTON BY 525 PM CDT...
  DURBIN AND MAPLETON BY 540 PM CDT...
  6 MILES NORTHEAST OF DAVENPORT BY 550 PM CDT...

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

LAT...LON 4698 9735 4684 9745 4666 9698 4684 9685

$$

SMITH
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202224
SVSFGF

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

NDC017-202300-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-050520T2300Z/
CASS ND-
523 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN CASS
COUNTY...

AT 519 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 2 MILES EAST 
EMBDEN. TORNADO MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  DURBIN AND MAPLETON BY 540 PM CDT...
  6 MILES NORTHEAST OF DAVENPORT BY 550 PM CDT...

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

LAT...LON 4698 9735 4684 9745 4666 9698 4684 9685

$$

JDS
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202234
SVSFGF

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

NDC017-202300-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-050520T2300Z/
CASS ND-
532 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR CENTRAL CASS
COUNTY...

AT 527 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION WAS 
LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CASSELTON...OR 22 MILES WEST OF 
FARGO...MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. AT 519 PM A TORNADO WAS 
REPORTED 2 MILES OF EMBDEN.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  DURBIN BY 545 PM CDT...

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

LAT...LON 4696 9732 4684 9745 4667 9719 4679 9696

$$

JDS/KENNEDY
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 202246
SVSFGF

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

NDC017-202300-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-050520T2300Z/
CASS ND-
545 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 600 PM CDT FOR SOUTHEASTERN CASS
COUNTY...

AT 540 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION.  THE TORNADO WAS LOCATED 3 MILES
SOUTH OF DURBIN...OR 18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FARGO...MOVING TO THE
SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  DAVENPORT AND 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HORACE BY 550 PM CDT...
  9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HICKSON BY 600 PM CDT...
  NEAR KINDRED AT 555 PM CDT

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

LAT...LON 4707 9706 4689 9742 4664 9727 4664 9681

$$

JDS/KENNEDY

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, 4:39 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFGrand Forks36 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.