Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 30, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 15, 2011Barnes County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 2011, 3:25 AM CDT for Barnes County, North Dakota. It was in force for 50 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
Jul 15, 2011, 3:25 AM CDT (08:25 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 2011, 4:15 AM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Barnes County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:27 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
Jul 15, 3:45 AM CDTTSTM WND DMGValley City, NDNUMEROUS REPORTS OF TREE BRANCHES AND POWERLINES DOWN AROUND TOWN.

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

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 15, 2:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 199 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 00:00Z on 2011-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2132 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 00:00Z on 2011-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 101 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2132 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-66 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
698 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
101 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

646 
WFUS53 KFGF 150825
TORFGF
NDC003-150915-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0030.110715T0825Z-110715T0915Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
325 AM CDT FRI JUL 15 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL BARNES COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 415 AM CDT

* AT 323 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 2 MILES NORTHWEST OF SANBORN...OR 12 MILES WEST OF VALLEY
  CITY...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BALD HILL DAM AROUND 335 AM CDT.
  VALLEY CITY AROUND 345 AM CDT.
  ORISKA AROUND 405 AM CDT.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 94...THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE
BETWEEN...MILE MARKER 275 AROUND 325 AM CDT...AND MILE MARKER 304
AROUND 405 AM CDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4710 9836 4710 9771 4678 9769 4679 9836
TIME...MOT...LOC 0825Z 272DEG 27KT 4697 9822

$$

HOPPES
2 follow-up statements
258 
WWUS53 KFGF 150838
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
338 AM CDT FRI JUL 15 2011

NDC003-150915-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0030.000000T0000Z-110715T0915Z/
BARNES ND-
338 AM CDT FRI JUL 15 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL BARNES COUNTY IN
SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 415 AM CDT...

AT 337 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 2 MILES NORTHWEST
OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ORISKA AROUND 355 AM CDT.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 94...THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE
BETWEEN...MILE MARKER 289 AROUND 340 AM CDT...AND MILE MARKER 306
AROUND 400 AM CDT...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4710 9836 4710 9771 4678 9769 4679 9836
TIME...MOT...LOC 0838Z 283DEG 37KT 4694 9803

$$

HOPPES
730 
WWUS53 KFGF 150917
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
417 AM CDT FRI JUL 15 2011

NDC003-150926-
/O.EXP.KFGF.TO.W.0030.000000T0000Z-110715T0915Z/
BARNES ND-
417 AM CDT FRI JUL 15 2011

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL BARNES COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH
DAKOTA HAS EXPIRED...

THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS MOVED OUT OF THE WARNED
AREA.

LAT...LON 4710 9836 4710 9771 4678 9769 4679 9836
TIME...MOT...LOC 0838Z 283DEG 37KT 4694 9803

$$

HOPPES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 2:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFGriggs64 min
Jul 15, 2:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes64 min
Jul 15, 3:53 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRansom, Richland52 min
Jul 15, 4:03 AM CDTExcessive Heat WatchFGFBarnes, Benson, Cass, Eddy, Grand Forks, Griggs and 9 more24 hr
Jul 15, 4:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBarnes, Cass56 min
Jul 15, 4:18 AM CDTTornado WarningFGFRansom, Richland42 min
Jul 15, 4:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland55 min
Jul 15, 5:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFCass, Traill43 min
Jul 15, 5:11 AM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryFGFBarnes9 hr
Jul 15, 5:12 AM CDTTornado WarningFGFRichland39 min
Jul 15, 5:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFRichland58 min
Jul 15, 3:15 PM CDTExcessive Heat WarningFGFBarnes, Cass, Eddy, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson and 5 more5 days

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Dakota, 2011Every tornado warning in 2011Tornadoes in 2011

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.