Funnel Cloud, Golden Valley
- When
- July 20, 8:20 PM CST
- Where
- Golden Valley County, 3 mi N of Beach
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 46.940, -103.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in North Dakota, July 20, 2001
1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 20, 2:15 PM CST, 6 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 2:15 PM CST, 6 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 315 PM CDT FRI JUL 20 2001 MAIN CONCERN WL BE SEVERE WX OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS. MODELS IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT EJECTING SEVERAL SHORT WAVE SYSTEM THRU THE REGION TONIGHT THRU SATURDAY NIGHT. THE FIRST OF THE SHORT WAVES FORECAST TO REACH WESTERN ND LATER THIS AFTERNOON THE MOVE EAST...SOUTHEAST REACHING NORTHEASTERN SD LATE TONIGHT. THE SECOND SHORT WAVE FORECAST TO REACH WESTERN ND EARLY SATURDAY AND MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CWA DURING THE DAY AND THE THIRD REACHES WESTERN ND SATURDAY NIGHT AND MOVES ACROSS THE REGION OVERNIGHT REACHING THE EASTERN AREAS OF THE STATE EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. WITH A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE THE SHORT WAVE SYSTEMS MOVING THRU WILL ADD FUEL TO TSRA POTENTIAL THRU SATURDAY NIGHT. A SURFACE BOUNDRY WILL ADD LIFT FOR THE CONVECTION. DRIER AIR AND SUBSIDENCE FORECAST TO ADVECT OVER THE WRN CWA SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. THIS WILL BRING COOLER AND LESS HUMID AIR BACK INTO THE AREA. .BIS...NONE. RGT
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 20, 4:37 PM CST, 3 hours 43 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND
537 PM CDT FRI JUL 20 2001
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0440 PM 11 SE CROSBY ND 3.50 INCH HAIL
7/19/01 DIVIDE REPORTED BY PUBLIC
ASSIDLocal storm report, Jul 20, 5:52 PM CST, 2 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
652 PM CDT FRI JUL 20 2001
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0425 PM 6 S WILDROSE ND 4.5 INCH HAIL
07/20/01 WILLIAMS REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0435 PM 7 S NOONAN ND 1.75 INCH HAIL
07/20/01 DIVIDE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0455 PM 4 N MC GREGOR ND FUNNEL CLOUD
07/20/01 DIVIDE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0505 PM 15 S COLUMBUS ND .25 INCH HAIL
07/20/01 BURKE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Special weather statement, Jul 20, 6:24 PM CST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
NDZ001-009-017-210120- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 723 PM CDT (623 PM MDT) FRI JUL 20 2001 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA... AT 720 PM CDT...AREA OBSERVATIONS AND RADARS INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST MONTANA. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO DIVIDE...WILLIAMS AND MCKENZIE COUNTIES BY 800 PM CDT (7OO PM MDT). FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL ARE ALL POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. ANYONE OUTDOORS THIS EVENING IN DIVIDE...MCKENZIE AND WILLIAMAS COUTIES SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY TO TAKE SHELTER IF STORM APPROACH. MR NNN
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 6:27 PM CST, 1 hour 53 minutes before
NDZ001-009-017-210120- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILLISTON ND 723 PM CDT (623 PM MDT) FRI JUL 20 2001 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA... AT 720 PM CDT...AREA OBSERVATIONS AND RADARS INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST MONTANA. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO DIVIDE...WILLIAMS AND MCKENZIE COUNTIES BY 800 PM CDT (700 PM MDT). FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...HEAVY RAIN AND HAIL ARE ALL POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. ANYONE OUTDOORS THIS EVENING IN DIVIDE...MCKENZIE AND WILLIAMS COUNTIES SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY TO TAKE SHELTER IF STORM APPROACH. MR NNNN
The radar
The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 235 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:21 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Wisconsin, July 20, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, July 20, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 20, 2001
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Georgia, July 20, 2001
- Hail in South Dakota, July 20, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Indiana, July 20, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Montana, July 20, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, July 20, 2001
- High Surf in Hawaii, July 20 to 23, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, July 20, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, July 20, 2001
- Hail in North Dakota, July 20, 2001
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, July 2001
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5257532.