Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 36, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 16, 2011Benson County, Ramsey County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 16, 2011, 8:36 PM CDT for Benson County, Ramsey County, North Dakota. It was in force for 39 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
Jul 16, 2011, 8:36 PM CDT (01:36 UTC)
Expired
Jul 16, 2011, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Benson County, ND, Ramsey County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:39 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 16, 4:57 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 200 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 2011-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4274 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 2011-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 54 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
4274 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1100 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
54 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
205 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.4
Supercell composite
13.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

105 
WFUS53 KFGF 170136
TORFGF
NDC005-071-170215-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0036.110717T0136Z-110717T0215Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
836 PM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN BENSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...
  SOUTH CENTRAL RAMSEY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 834 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ST MICHAEL...OR 11 MILES SOUTH OF
  DEVILS LAKE...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  TOKIO AROUND 845 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4804 9853 4785 9854 4788 9904 4807 9901
TIME...MOT...LOC 0136Z 276DEG 19KT 4796 9889

$$

DTR/JK
2 follow-up statements
347 
WWUS53 KFGF 170152
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
852 PM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

NDC005-071-170215-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0036.000000T0000Z-110717T0215Z/
BENSON ND-RAMSEY ND-
852 PM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL RAMSEY AND
SOUTHEASTERN BENSON COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 915 PM
CDT...

AT 848 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 2 MILES NORTH OF
TOKIO...OR 11 MILES SOUTH OF DEVILS LAKE...MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20
MPH.

THE TORNADIC STORM WILL AFFECT MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
RAMSEY AND SOUTHEASTERN BENSON COUNTIES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4804 9853 4785 9854 4788 9904 4807 9901
TIME...MOT...LOC 0152Z 283DEG 19KT 4795 9880

$$

DTR/JK
347 
WWUS53 KFGF 170215
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
915 PM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

NDC005-071-170225-
/O.EXP.KFGF.TO.W.0036.000000T0000Z-110717T0215Z/
BENSON ND-RAMSEY ND-
915 PM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL RAMSEY AND SOUTHEASTERN
BENSON COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA HAS EXPIRED...

THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE
LIMITS...AND NO LONGER POSES AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO LIFE OR PROPERTY.

LAT...LON 4804 9853 4785 9854 4788 9904 4807 9901
TIME...MOT...LOC 0215Z 283DEG 19KT 4792 9862

$$

DTR/JK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 16, 7:10 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFGriggs50 min
Jul 16, 7:53 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBenson, Ramsey52 min
Jul 16, 9:24 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBenson, Nelson, Ramsey51 min
Jul 16, 10:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFGFNelson, Ramsey10 hr
Jul 16, 10:41 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryFGFPembina, Walsh8 hr
Jul 16, 11:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFWalsh52 min
Jul 17, 11:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFGFBenson60 min
Jul 17, 12:33 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFEddy42 min
Jul 17, 1:11 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFEddy49 min
Jul 17, 2:24 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes, Griggs36 min
Jul 17, 2:57 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes, Griggs48 min
Jul 17, 3:34 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes, Griggs, Steele41 min
Jul 17, 4:12 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes, Cass63 min
Jul 17, 5:13 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFCass45 min

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.