Alert archive / North Dakota / Mesoscale Discussions in 2011

Mesoscale Discussion 1985

August 15, 20115 counties in North Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 15, 2011, 3:22 AM CDT for 5 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 15, 2011, 3:22 AM CDT (08:22 UTC)
Expired
Aug 15, 2011, 5:45 AM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Burleigh County, ND, McLean County, ND, Mercer County, ND, Morton County, ND, Oliver County, ND

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:21 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 nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 00:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 2011-08-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1399 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 00:00Z on 2011-08-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 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
1399 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-128 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1398 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
222 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
7.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

239 
ACUS11 KWNS 150823
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 150822
NDZ000-151045-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1985
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0322 AM CDT MON AUG 15 2011

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS ND.

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY

VALID 150822Z - 151045Z

ISOLATED SVR TSTM OVER NWRN ND...MOVING FROM MCKENZIE INTO NRN DUNN
COUNTY AS OF 08Z...MAY CONTINUE TO POSE THREAT FOR LARGE HAIL SEWD
TOWARD BIS AREA THROUGH ABOUT 12Z.  POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OR UPSCALE GROWTH APPEARS RATHER NEBULOUS ATTM...GIVEN
PRESENCE OF NONTRIVIAL CINH AND SMALL SPATIAL SCALE OF MOST
FAVORABLE FOCI.  HOWEVER...ADDITIONAL CELLS MAY FORM NEARBY WITH
POTENTIAL FOR HAIL.

SHORT-FUSE GUIDANCE AND OBSERVED VWP WIND TRENDS INDICATE 850-MB
WARM FRONT HAS MOVED/REDEVELOPED NEWD ACROSS NRN PLAINS AND EXTENDS
NEAR LINE FROM NEAR SDY-DIK-PHP...WITH MOST AXIS AT THAT LEVEL
PARALLEL AND TO ITS N FROM NEAR ISN-BIS-MBG.  ALONG AND JUST E OF
THIS BOUNDARY...STG SLY WIND COMPONENT WILL HELP TO MAINTAIN
FAVORABLE STORM-RELATIVE INFLOW OF 30-40 KT.  STRONGEST/ELEVATED
LOW-LEVEL LIFT SHOULD REMAIN ALONG OR JUST NE OF FRONT...WHICH
SHOULD DRIFT EWD THROUGH REMAINDER PRE-DAWN HOURS.  ACCOMPANYING
CORRIDOR OF RELATIVELY MINIMIZED MUCINH...ALONG WITH STEEP LAPSE
RATES ALOFT SUPPORTING MUCAPE 1500-2500 J/KG...MAY HELP TO SUSTAIN
NWRN ND ACTIVITY INTO PORTIONS CENTRAL/SRN SD.  HOWEVER...MUCINH
SHOULD STRENGTHEN GRADUALLY WITH TIME...INDICATING POTENTIAL FOR
CONVECTION TO WEAKEN RATHER RAPIDLY ONCE SUCH TRENDS COMMENCE.  VWP
AND MODIFIED FCST SOUNDINGS SUGGEST FAVORABLE DEEP-LAYER SHEAR--I.E.
EFFECTIVE MAGNITUDES 40-50 KT FOR NEXT 3-4 HOURS.

..EDWARDS.. 08/15/2011

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...BIS...

LAT...LON   47680301 48000198 47960108 47329999 46499996 46060067
            46610162 47680301

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 14, 8:42 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEmmons, Grant, Logan, McIntosh, Morton, Sioux93 min
Aug 15, 3:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Grant, Hettinger and 7 more58 min
Aug 15, 5:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Billings, Bowman, Burleigh, Dunn, Emmons and 21 more9 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in North Dakota, 2011Every mesoscale discussion 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.