Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 45, NWS Grand Forks, ND

July 17, 2011Cass County, North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this tornado warning at Jul 17, 2011, 5:13 PM CDT for Cass County, North Dakota. It was in force for 45 min. 3 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, 5:13 PM CDT (22:13 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 2011, 5:58 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Cass County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:13 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, 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.
Jul 17, 5:35 PM CDTFUNNEL CLOUD4 Wnw Wheatland, NDWELL DEVELOPED WALL CLOUD WITH WEAK FUNNEL REPORTED BY PUBLIC TO MEDIA.

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, 3:37 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 239 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 2011-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 5718 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, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 2011-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 39 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
5718 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-125 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1259 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

630 
WFUS53 KFGF 172213
TORFGF
NDC017-172300-
/O.NEW.KFGF.TO.W.0045.110717T2213Z-110717T2300Z/

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 508 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THE STORM WAS
  LOCATED 2 MILES SOUTH OF AYR...OR 25 MILES EAST OF VALLEY CITY...
  MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ABSARAKA AROUND 520 PM CDT.
  WHEATLAND AROUND 535 PM CDT.
  CASSELTON AROUND 545 PM CDT.
  MAPLETON AND DURBIN AROUND 600 PM CDT.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 94...THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE
BETWEEN...MILE MARKER 319 AROUND 525 PM CDT...AND MILE MARKER 340
AROUND 600 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 4685 9694 4667 9713 4697 9762 4710 9749
TIME...MOT...LOC 2213Z 306DEG 21KT 4700 9747

$$

VOELKER
2 follow-up statements
232 
WWUS53 KFGF 172241
SVSFGF

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

NDC017-172300-
/O.CON.KFGF.TO.W.0045.000000T0000Z-110717T2300Z/
CASS ND-
541 PM CDT SUN JUL 17 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL CASS COUNTY IN
SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA UNTIL 600 PM CDT...

AT 536 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR WHEATLAND...
OR 24 MILES WEST OF FARGO...MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  CASSELTON AROUND 550 PM CDT.
  MAPLETON AND DURBIN AROUND 600 PM CDT.

FOR MOTORISTS ON INTERSTATE 94...THE TORNADIC STORM WILL BE
BETWEEN...MILE MARKER 326 AROUND 540 PM CDT...AND MILE MARKER 335
AROUND 555 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 4685 9694 4667 9713 4697 9762 4710 9749
TIME...MOT...LOC 2241Z 306DEG 21KT 4690 9728

$$

VOELKER
149 
WWUS53 KFGF 172258
SVSFGF

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

NDC017-172308-
/O.CAN.KFGF.TO.W.0045.000000T0000Z-110717T2300Z/
CASS ND-
558 PM CDT SUN JUL 17 2011

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL CASS COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST NORTH
DAKOTA IS CANCELLED...

THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED AND IS NO LONGER 
SEVERE.

LAT...LON 4685 9694 4667 9713 4697 9762 4710 9749
TIME...MOT...LOC 2258Z 306DEG 21KT 4685 9716

$$

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, 4:12 PM CDTTornado WarningFGFBarnes, Cass63 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.