Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 44, NWS Grand Forks, ND

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

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 17, 2011, 4:12 PM CDT for Barnes County, Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 63 min. 6 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, 4:12 PM CDT (21:12 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 2011, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Barnes County, ND, Cass County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 55 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:13 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 17, 4:15 PM CDTHAIL 2.755 S Pillsbury, ND
Jul 17, 4:36 PM CDTHAIL 1.75Page, NDPUBLIC REPORT RELAYED VIA MEDIA
Jul 17, 5:10 PM CDTHAIL 1.54 S Erie, ND
Jul 17, 5:11 PM CDTHAIL 1.755 Se Page, ND
Jul 17, 5:24 PM CDTFUNNEL CLOUD8 Nw Wheatland, NDTWO SHORT LIVED FUNNELS THAT CAME ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THE WAY DOWN FROM THE CLOUD AND WENT RIGHT BACK UP
Jul 17, 5:25 PM CDTHAIL 1.5Absaraka, NDPUBLIC REPORT AND PHOTO RECEIVED VIA MEDIA FACEBOOK PAGE. HAIL OCCURRED BETWEEN 525 AND 530 PM CDT.

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 17, 9:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr
Jul 17, 3:37 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 231 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 12:00Z on 2011-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4227 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, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2011-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 156 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
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.

485 
WFUS53 KFGF 172112
TORFGF
NDC003-017-172215-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0044.110717T2112Z-110717T2215Z/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN BARNES COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...
  NORTHWESTERN CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA...

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 409 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 3 MILES SOUTH OF PILLSBURY...OR 19 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  PAGE AROUND 435 PM CDT.
  AYR AROUND 450 PM CDT.
  ERIE AND BUFFALO AROUND 455 PM CDT.
  ABSARAKA AROUND 505 PM CDT.

THEREAFTER SOME OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THE TORNADIC STORM
INCLUDE WHEATLAND.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 4713 9798 4724 9788 4725 9772 4708 9717
      4678 9746
TIME...MOT...LOC 2112Z 302DEG 22KT 4716 9779

$$

VOELKER
1 follow-up statement
691 
WWUS53 KFGF 172145
SVSFGF

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

NDC003-017-172215-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0044.000000T0000Z-110717T2215Z/
BARNES ND-CASS ND-
445 PM CDT SUN JUL 17 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWESTERN CASS AND
NORTHEASTERN BARNES COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 515 PM
CDT...

AT 441 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 4 MILES NORTHWEST
OF AYR...OR 23 MILES NORTHEAST OF VALLEY CITY...MOVING TO THE
SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  AYR AROUND 450 PM CDT.
  ERIE AND BUFFALO AROUND 455 PM CDT.
  ABSARAKA AROUND 505 PM CDT.
  WHEATLAND AROUND 515 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 4713 9798 4724 9788 4725 9772 4708 9717
      4678 9746
TIME...MOT...LOC 2145Z 302DEG 22KT 4705 9754

$$

VOELKER

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, 8:36 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBenson, Ramsey39 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, 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.