Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 42, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 17, 2011Barnes County, Griggs County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 17, 2011, 2:57 PM CDT for Barnes County, Griggs County, North Dakota. It was in force for 48 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: Jul 17, 2011, 2:57 PM CDT (19:57 UTC)
Expired: Jul 17, 2011, 3:45 PM CDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Barnes County, ND, Griggs County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:00 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
Jul 17, 3:16 PM CDT	TORNADO 0	4 W Hannaford, ND	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 MINUTES. TREES AND TREE LIMBS BLOWN DOWN.
Jul 17, 3:16 PM CDT	TORNADO	4 W Hannaford, ND	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 MINUTES.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 17, 9:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr
Jul 17, 12:49 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	3 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 190 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: 4227 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -184 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1037 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 276 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 37.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

455 
WFUS53 KFGF 171957
TORFGF
NDC003-039-172045-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0042.110717T1957Z-110717T2045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
257 PM CDT SUN JUL 17 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN BARNES COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...
  SOUTHERN GRIGGS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 345 PM CDT

* AT 255 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF REVERE...OR 32 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  WALUM...LEAL AND HANNAFORD AROUND 315 PM CDT.
  DAZEY AROUND 320 PM CDT.
  ROGERS AROUND 330 PM CDT.
  BALD HILL DAM AROUND 345 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME...A
VEHICLE...OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4742 9809 4696 9805 4715 9847 4732 9848
      4732 9850 4750 9851
TIME...MOT...LOC 1957Z 296DEG 21KT 4732 9834

$$

HOPKINS

1 follow-up statement

474 
WWUS53 KFGF 172022
SVSFGF

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
322 PM CDT SUN JUL 17 2011

NDC003-039-172045-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0042.000000T0000Z-110717T2045Z/
BARNES ND-GRIGGS ND-
322 PM CDT SUN JUL 17 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN GRIGGS AND NORTH
CENTRAL BARNES COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 345 PM CDT...

AT 318 PM CDT...STORM SPOTTERS OBSERVED AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO. THE DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED
NEAR HANNAFORD...OR 27 MILES NORTH OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE
SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

AT 316 PM CDT, A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WAS REPORTED IN 4 MILES WEST OF 
HANNAFORD. 

THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  DAZEY AROUND 330 PM CDT.
  ROGERS AROUND 340 PM CDT.
  BALD HILL DAM AROUND 345 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR
OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 4742 9809 4701 9805 4714 9837 4747 9839
TIME...MOT...LOC 2022Z 301DEG 19KT 4728 9818

$$

HOPKINS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 16, 7:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Griggs	50 min
Jul 16, 7:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Benson, Ramsey	52 min
Jul 16, 8:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Benson, Ramsey	39 min
Jul 16, 9:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Benson, Nelson, Ramsey	51 min
Jul 16, 10:02 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	FGF	Nelson, Ramsey	10 hr
Jul 16, 10:41 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	FGF	Pembina, Walsh	8 hr
Jul 16, 11:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Walsh	52 min
Jul 17, 11:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FGF	Benson	60 min
Jul 17, 12:33 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Eddy	42 min
Jul 17, 1:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Eddy	49 min
Jul 17, 2:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Barnes, Griggs	36 min
Jul 17, 3:34 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Barnes, Griggs, Steele	41 min
Jul 17, 4:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Barnes, Cass	63 min
Jul 17, 5:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	FGF	Cass	45 min

Nearby

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