Alert archive / North Dakota / Tornado Watches in 2020

Tornado Watch 314

June 28, 202019 counties in North Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 28, 2020, 2:09 PM MDT for 19 counties in North Dakota. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 28, 2020, 2:09 PM MDT (20:09 UTC)
Expired
Jun 28, 2020, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Adams County, ND, Bottineau County, ND, Burleigh County, ND, Dunn County, ND, Grant County, ND, Hettinger County, ND, McHenry County, ND, McLean County, ND, Mercer County, ND, Morton County, ND, Mountrail County, ND, Oliver County, ND, Pierce County, ND, Renville County, ND, Rolette County, ND, Sheridan County, ND, Sioux County, ND, Stark County, ND, Ward County, ND

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
60%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
60%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
95%

Warnings issued inside it

21 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 28, 2:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau, McHenry44 min
Jun 28, 2:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry37 min
Jun 28, 3:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean50 min
Jun 28, 3:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau, McHenry63 min
Jun 28, 3:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry, Ward42 min
Jun 28, 3:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean, Mercer23 min
Jun 28, 4:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcHenry, Ward67 min
Jun 28, 5:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau, Renville, Ward45 min
Jun 28, 5:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMcLean, Mercer, Morton, Oliver60 min
Jun 28, 5:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau, Renville35 min
Jun 28, 6:04 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMorton, Oliver56 min
Jun 28, 6:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISAdams, Bowman59 min
Jun 28, 6:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISRenville, Ward66 min
Jun 28, 6:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau38 min
Jun 28, 6:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurleigh, Morton, Oliver60 min
Jun 28, 6:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBurleigh, Morton55 min
Jun 28, 6:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMorton53 min
Jun 28, 7:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISBottineau47 min
Jun 28, 7:37 PM MDTTornado Warning Tornado observedBISGrant, Morton, Sioux23 min
Jun 28, 7:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISMorton, Sioux62 min
Jun 28, 8:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBISSioux45 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 116 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 2020-06-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1392 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 2020-06-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 54 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1392 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-196 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1261 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
54 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

358 
WWUS20 KWNS 282003
SEL4  
SPC WW 282003
NDZ000-290300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 314
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
305 PM CDT Sun Jun 28 2020

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Parts of central and western North Dakota

* Effective this Sunday afternoon and evening from 305 PM until
  1000 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A few tornadoes possible
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5
    inches in diameter likely
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely

SUMMARY...Thunderstorms are expected to form along a stalled front
across central North Dakota and intensify quickly in the next couple
of hours.  The storm environment will favor a threat for tornadoes
and isolated very large hail with the initial storms along the
front.  Later this afternoon/evening, storms will likely grow into
clusters/line segments with a continuing large hail and damaging
wind threat.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 45 statute miles
east and west of a line from 55 miles north northeast of Minot ND to
80 miles southwest of Bismarck ND. For a complete depiction of the
watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
and possible warnings.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 312...WW 313...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 600. Mean
storm motion vector 21015.

...Thompson

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 28, 12:54 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBottineau, Burke, McHenry, McLean, Mercer, Morton and 4 more2 hr
Jun 28, 5:53 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Bottineau, Grant, Hettinger, McHenry, McLean and 6 more2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in North Dakota, 2020Every tornado watch in 2020

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.