Tornado Warning 17, NWS Bismarck, ND

058 
WWUS53 KBIS 170340
SVSBIS

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
1040 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

NDC031-103-170400-
/O.CON.KBIS.TO.W.0017.000000T0000Z-260717T0400Z/
Foster ND-Wells ND-
1040 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM CDT FOR EAST CENTRAL
WELLS AND NORTHWESTERN FOSTER COUNTIES...

At 1040 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located 9 miles northeast of Cathay, or 18 miles northwest of
Carrington, moving east at 20 mph.

HAZARD...Tornado.

SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
         shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
         to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
         likely.

Locations impacted include...
  Mainly rural areas of East Central Wells and Northwestern Foster
  Counties.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built building
away from windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a
vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself
from flying debris.

&&

LAT...LON 4767 9947 4772 9941 4769 9930 4767 9930
      4767 9927 4759 9927 4759 9914 4751 9921
TIME...MOT...LOC 0329Z 271DEG 18KT 4767 9941

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...<1.00 IN

$$

Johnson

150 
WWUS53 KBIS 170353
SVSBIS

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
1053 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

NDC031-103-170403-
/O.EXP.KBIS.TO.W.0017.000000T0000Z-260717T0400Z/
Foster ND-Wells ND-
1053 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

...TORNADO WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 11 PM CDT FOR EAST CENTRAL WELLS
AND NORTHWESTERN FOSTER COUNTIES...

The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe
limits, and no longer appears capable of producing a tornado.
Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1200 AM CDT for
portions of south central and southeast North Dakota.

&&

LAT...LON 4767 9947 4772 9941 4769 9930 4767 9930
      4767 9927 4759 9927 4759 9914 4751 9921
TIME...MOT...LOC 0340Z 271DEG 18KT 4767 9933

$$

Johnson

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
657 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Isolated thunderstorms from south central North Dakota to the
  Turtle Mountains this evening. A few severe storms are
  possible in the north central.

- Patchy fog is possible in northwest North Dakota tonight
  through mid Friday morning.

- Slightly cooler Friday and Saturday, then hot again for most
  areas on Sunday. Temperatures are then favored to fall closer
  to normal next week, with forecast highs mostly in the 80s.

&&

.UPDATE...
Issued at 657 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued until midnight for
Rolette, Pierce, Wells, and Foster counties.

Currently, isolated thunderstorms are developing along a
frontal boundary draped from eastern Bottineau down through
western Sioux County. With a lack of shear, storms in the south
are having a more difficult time sustaining themselves. However,
near the Canadian border, storms development is starting to
intensify near the triple point where a lot higher shear is
present. The primary threats are wind and hail with brief heavy
rain. However, a tornado cannot be ruled out. Storms will likely
move to the east of the CWA within the next couple to few
hours, which may allow the aforementioned counties to be
canceled earlier than the current expiration time.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 230 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

Increasingly zonal flow is found over the northern Plains this
afternoon as low amplitude shortwave moving across Canada
flattens the upper level ridge that has been prevalent over much
of the CONUS over the past week. At the surface, a center of
low pressure has been steady lofted toward northeast North
Dakota by the passage of the previously mentioned shortwave,
dragging an inverted surface trough / cold front across the
forecast area this afternoon. An interrogating of BUFKIT model
soundings across portions of central North Dakota reveals a
somewhat robust convective environment developing through the
early evening, with model MUCAPE values approaching 3000 to 3500
J/KG overlapping with 0-6KM shear values around 30 to 35 knots
over portions of the north central and the north east. The
biggest obstacle to CI would be a fairly robust low level
capping inversion over much of the forecast area, with 850mb
temps roughly 5 degrees higher than the surface. That being
said, with forecast surface temperatures expected to approach
convective temperatures by the early evening, it wouldn't be
overly surprising to see this cap erode enough to allow for some
isolated thunderstorms to develop. With orientation of BULK
shear vectors generally perpendicular to the inverted
trough/cold front, discrete storms can generally be
anticipated, while sufficient shear and with at least somewhat
curved hodographs could promote a transient supercell or two.
The primary hazard associated with any severe storm would be
large hail up to 2 inches in diameter, though high DCAPE values
approaching 1500 J/KG would also suggest strong winds up to 70
MPH are also possible. The overall potential for tornadoes
remains low, with near surface SRH and shear values remain well
below expected norms. That being said, conditions across north
central North Dakota are analogous to previous events where
we've had had high-based hybrid tornadoes, where a developing
landspout along a surface boundary becomes anchored to a
supercell (with research suggesting these types of hybrid
tornadoes occur when you have an overlap of very high cape
values exceeding 3000 J/KG, strong deep layer sheer around 30 to
40 knots, low near surface SRH, and developing supercells along
a cold front). With that in mind, we will need to keep a close
eye on any supercells that do end up developing this evening.
Also of note is the above normal PWATs over much of central and
eastern North Dakota today, around 1.5 to 1.75 inches, which
means that heavy rainfall can also be anticipated with any storm
that does develop. With a discrete storm mode, this heavy
rainfall is expected to be fairly brief, and thus flash flood
concerns remains low at this time. For today, the SPC has placed
portions of north central North Dakota and the northern James
River Valley into a Marginal (level 1 of 5) risk for isolated
severe thunderstorms.

Above normal high temperatures in the mid 90s to lower 100s
continue along the south half of the state today, while
conditions across the normal remain slightly cooler with highs
from the lower 80s to lower 90s. Along with dewpoints generally
in the upper 60s to lower 70s, apparent temperatures across
portions of the southwest and south central are expected to be
around 100F this afternoon into early this evening. A Heat
Advisory remains in effect along and south of Highway 200
through 10 PM CDT tonight. With low temperatures forecast mainly
in the lower 60s to lower 70s, better overnight recovery is
expected across western and central North Dakota than we have
seen all week, which is help alleviate further heat concerns
moving into the start of the weekend. Otherwise for tonight,
patchy fog will be possible across portions of the far northwest
through Friday morning as a near surface temperature inversion
develops, and as northeasterly winds become very light
overnight.

Northwesterly flow is then generally expected across western
and central North Dakota as we head into the weekend, promoting
a slight cooling trend that will promote highs from the lower to
mid 80s along the International Border, up to the mid 90s and
lower 100s. This synoptic pattern is also more conducive for
precipitation, with at least low chances for showers and a few
storms expected late Friday into Saturday morning across the far
west. A more robust Canadian trough is then expected Saturday
night into Sunday, turning flow aloft more zonal and promoting
low to medium chances for precpitation across much of western
and central North Dakota. Overall QPF is expected to be fairly
limited due to the transient nature of these showers and storms,
though high PWATs through the weekend would allow for brief
period of moderate to heavy rainfall when and where
thunderstorms develop. CSU machine learning has begun to
highlight portions of the forecast on Sunday, which is expected
to be associated with storms in the afternoon. We will monitor
forecast trends through the weekend.

A return to northwesterly flow as we head into early next week
will again allow the cooling trend to continue, bringing highs
back down toward near normal by the midweek. With this synoptic
pattern, low chances for showers and thunderstorms can be
expected somewhere in North Dakota just about any given day,
though the ensemble does not advertise a strong precpitation or
severe signal at this time.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 657 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

A north to south cold frontal boundary is producing isolated
thunderstorms this evening in parts of central North Dakota.
Some of these storms may be severe in the north central for
areas east of KMOT early this evening. Storms should move off to
the east over the next few hours. Overall, the probability of
any thunderstorms impacting KBIS or KJMS is low. As the frontal
boundary moves east, winds that are currently out of the south
will switch to a northwesterly component. Patchy fog may
develop in the northwest, while MVFR/IFR ceilings are possible
in the north central.

&&

.BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Heat Advisory until 10 PM CDT /9 PM MDT/ this evening for
NDZ017>020-022-023-025-031>033-035>037-040>044-046>048-050-051-
057>062.

&&

UPDATE...Telken
DISCUSSION...Adam
AVIATION...Telken

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
1021 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

NDZ023-025-180330-
Wells-Foster-
1021 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of south central
North Dakota and southeast North Dakota.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until midnight CDT.
Large hail, gusty winds, and a few tornadoes are the primary
threats.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are asked to provide reports to the NWS using standard
procedures, including through our social media accounts.

NDZ001>005-009-010-012-013-017>020-022-031>033-035>037-040>044-
046>048-050-051-055>062-180330-
Divide-Burke-Renville-Bottineau-Rolette-Williams-Mountrail-
McHenry-Pierce-McKenzie-Dunn-Mercer-Oliver-Sheridan-Golden Valley-
Billings-Stark-Burleigh-Kidder-Stutsman-Slope-Hettinger-Grant-
Bowman-Adams-Emmons-Logan-La Moure-McIntosh-Dickey-Northwest Ward-
Central and Southern Ward/Minot Area-Western McLean-
Eastern McLean-Western Morton-Eastern Morton-Western Sioux-
Eastern Sioux-
1021 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026 /921 PM MDT Thu Jul 16 2026/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of north central
North Dakota, northwest North Dakota, south central North Dakota,
southeast North Dakota, and southwest North Dakota.

.DAY ONE...Tonight

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday

The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are asked to provide reports to the NWS using standard
procedures, including through our social media accounts.

Telken

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
833 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0804 PM     Landspout        6 S Wolford             48.41N 99.70W
07/16/2026                   Pierce             ND   Storm Chaser

            Multiple photos of a thin tornado. Report
            relayed via social media.

&&

Telken

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
1004 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1000 PM     Hail             Bremen                  47.75N 99.39W
07/16/2026  M1.00 Inch       Wells              ND   Public

            Report relayed via broadcast media.

&&

Telken

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
1007 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1000 PM     Rain             4 E Wolford             48.52N 99.62W
07/16/2026  M1.01 Inch       Pierce             ND   Mesonet

            NDAWN mesonet 4E Wolford.

&&

Telken

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Bismarck ND
1018 PM CDT Thu Jul 16 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1006 PM     Tornado          8 SSE Bremen            47.65N 99.31W
07/16/2026                   Wells              ND   Public

            Photos of a tornado relayed via broadcast
            media.

&&

Telken