Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 59, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 14, 2008Ransom County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 14, 2008, 5:20 PM CDT for Ransom County, North Dakota. It was in force for 25 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 14, 2008, 5:20 PM CDT (22:20 UTC)
Expired: Aug 14, 2008, 5:45 PM CDT
In force: 25 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Ransom County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:22 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 14, 5:40 PM CDT	HAIL 0.75	3 Nne Fort Ransom, ND
Aug 14, 5:55 PM CDT	HAIL 0.75	4 Nne Fort Ransom, ND

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

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 191 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: 723 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -115 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1378 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 26 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 KFGF 142220
TORFGF
NDC073-142245-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0059.080814T2220Z-080814T2245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
520 PM CDT THU AUG 14 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN RANSOM COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 545 PM CDT

* AT 517 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 5 MILES
  EAST OF FORT RANSOM...OR 28 MILES SOUTH OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO
  THE NORTHWEST AT 9 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL NORTHWESTERN RANSOM COUNTY AT 530 PM CDT...

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

LAT...LON 4662 9801 4663 9779 4653 9770 4648 9789
TIME...MOT...LOC 2220Z 146DEG 8KT 4654 9784

$$
SPEICHER

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS53 KFGF 142236
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
536 PM CDT THU AUG 14 2008

NDC073-142245-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0059.000000T0000Z-080814T2245Z/
RANSOM ND-
536 PM CDT THU AUG 14 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 545 PM CDT FOR
NORTHWESTERN RANSOM COUNTY...

AT 535 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD. THE FUNNEL
CLOUD WAS LOCATED 3 MILES NORTH OF FORT RANSOM...OR 25 MILES SOUTH OF
VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE NORTHWEST AT 11 MPH.

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

LAT...LON 4662 9801 4663 9779 4653 9770 4648 9789
TIME...MOT...LOC 2236Z 113DEG 9KT 4657 9791

$$
SPEICHER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 14, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Cass	28 min
Aug 14, 5:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Pembina, Walsh	32 min
Aug 14, 5:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Pembina, Walsh	10 min
Aug 14, 5:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Ransom	33 min
Aug 14, 6:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Walsh	36 min
Aug 14, 6:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Barnes, Steele	29 min
Aug 14, 6:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Barnes	37 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.