Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 53, NWS Bismarck, ND

August 11, 2008McLean County, Sheridan County, North Dakota

NWS Bismarck, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 11, 2008, 3:40 PM CDT for McLean County, Sheridan County, North Dakota. It was in force for 35 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: Aug 11, 2008, 3:40 PM CDT (20:40 UTC)
Expired: Aug 11, 2008, 4:15 PM CDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Bismarck, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties McLean County, ND, Sheridan County, ND

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:41 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 11, 4:00 PM CDT	TORNADO	Mercer, ND	TORNADO REPORTED BY FIRE DEPARTMENT 2-3 MILES EAST OF MERCER AND 5-6 SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 200.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 89 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: 830 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 880 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -9 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 39 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KBIS 112040
TORBIS
NDC055-083-112115-
/O.NEW.KBIS.TO.W.0053.080811T2040Z-080811T2115Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
340 PM CDT MON AUG 11 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL MCLEAN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...
  WEST CENTRAL SHERIDAN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 415 PM CDT

* AT 337 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR MERCER...OR
  49 MILES NORTH OF BISMARCK...MOVING EAST AT 14 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  MCCLUSKY BY 415 PM CDT...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4767 10045 4743 10038 4745 10075 4759 10077
TIME...MOT...LOC 2040Z 262DEG 12KT 4752 10067

$$
PJA

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS53 KBIS 112102
SVSBIS

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
402 PM CDT MON AUG 11 2008

NDC055-083-112115-
/O.CON.KBIS.TO.W.0053.000000T0000Z-080811T2115Z/
MCLEAN ND-SHERIDAN ND-
401 PM CDT MON AUG 11 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM CDT FOR WEST
CENTRAL SHERIDAN AND EXTREME EAST CENTRAL MCLEAN COUNTIES...

AT 358 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS 
LOCATED NEAR MERCER 3 MILES EAST OF MERCER AND 6 MILES SOUTH OF 
HIGHWAY 200...OR 47 MILES NORTH OF BISMARCK...MOVING EAST AT 9 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  7 MILES WEST OF MCCLUSKY BY 415 PM CDT...

TORRENTIAL RAIN...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND
UNDERPASSES...IS ALSO LIKELY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ON A FLOODED
ROADWAY.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4743 10038 4744 10049 4744 10050 4744 10064
      4745 10065 4745 10071 4760 10074 4767 10045
TIME...MOT...LOC 2101Z 264DEG 8KT 4748 10064

$$
PJA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 10, 8:30 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BIS	Billings, Stark	3 hr
Aug 10, 8:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Divide	65 min
Aug 10, 9:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Divide, Williams	55 min
Aug 10, 10:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Burke, Divide	59 min
Aug 10, 11:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Bottineau, Mountrail, Renville, Ward	61 min
Aug 11, 3:53 AM CDT	Flash Flood Watch	BIS	Bottineau, Burleigh, Dickey, Emmons, Foster, Kidder and 10 more	15 hr
Aug 11, 10:07 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BIS	Dickey, Foster, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Stutsman	4 hr
Aug 11, 1:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BIS	Burleigh	37 min
Aug 11, 1:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BIS	Emmons, Morton	25 min
Aug 11, 2:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BIS	Emmons, Morton, Sioux	41 min
Aug 11, 3:16 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BIS	Stutsman	3 hr
Aug 11, 3:30 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BIS	Dickey, McIntosh	3 hr
Aug 11, 4:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BIS	Sheridan	32 min
Aug 11, 4:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BIS	McHenry	37 min
Aug 11, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BIS	McHenry	30 min
Aug 11, 5:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BIS	Pierce	35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.