Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 60, NWS Grand Forks, ND

August 14, 2008Ransom County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Aug 14, 2008, 5:42 PM CDT for Ransom County, North Dakota. It was in force for 33 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, 5:42 PM CDT (22:42 UTC)
Expired
Aug 14, 2008, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Ransom County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 117 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:43 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 14, 5:55 PM CDTHAIL 0.754 Nne Fort Ransom, ND
Aug 14, 5:55 PM CDTHAIL 14 Nw Fort Ransom, NDSEVERAL SECTIONS OF CROPLAND IN NORTHLAND TOWNSHIP RECEIVED DAMAGE FROM HAIL AND WIND.

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, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 188 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, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 2008-08-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 723 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 2008-08-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
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 142242
TORFGF
NDC073-142315-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0060.080814T2242Z-080814T2315Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
542 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 615 PM CDT

* AT 539 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 3 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF FORT RANSOM...OR 25 MILES SOUTH OF VALLEY CITY...
  MOVING TO THE NORTHWEST AT 5 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL NORTHWESTERN RANSOM COUNTY AT 600 PM CDT...

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

LAT...LON 4652 9805 4662 9805 4663 9805 4663 9779
      4658 9772 4644 9789
TIME...MOT...LOC 2242Z 124DEG 4KT 4657 9790

$$
SPEICHER
2 follow-up statements
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 142302
SVSFGF

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

NDC073-142315-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0060.000000T0000Z-080814T2315Z/
RANSOM ND-
602 PM CDT THU AUG 14 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM CDT FOR
NORTHWESTERN RANSOM COUNTY...

AT 600 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE TORNADO WAS LOCATED
2 MILES NORTHWEST OF FORT RANSOM...OR 26 MILES SOUTH OF VALLEY
CITY...MOVING TO THE NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

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

LAT...LON 4652 9805 4662 9805 4663 9805 4663 9779
      4658 9772 4644 9789
TIME...MOT...LOC 2302Z 108DEG 9KT 4655 9795

$$
SPEICHER
000 
WWUS53 KFGF 142311
SVSFGF

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

NDC073-142321-
/O.EXP.KFGF.TO.W.0060.000000T0000Z-080814T2315Z/
RANSOM ND-
611 PM CDT THU AUG 14 2008

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHWESTERN RANSOM COUNTY WILL EXPIRE AT
615 PM CDT...

AT 609 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM LOCATED 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF FORT RANSOM...OR 25 MILES
SOUTH OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE NORTHWEST AT 10 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORM HAS WEAKENED AND WAS NO LONGER CONSIDERED SEVERE. SO
THE WARNING WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 615 PM CDT. 

LAT...LON 4652 9805 4662 9805 4663 9805 4663 9779
      4658 9772 4644 9789
TIME...MOT...LOC 2311Z 108DEG 9KT 4656 9798

$$
SPEICHER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 14, 3:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass28 min
Aug 14, 5:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina, Walsh32 min
Aug 14, 5:20 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFRansom25 min
Aug 14, 5:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFPembina, Walsh10 min
Aug 14, 6:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh36 min
Aug 14, 6:31 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes, Steele29 min
Aug 14, 6:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes37 min

Nearby

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