Damaging Winds in North Dakota, May 16, 2001

Name: Damaging Winds in North Dakota, May 16, 2001
Start: 2001-05-16T18:47
End: 2001-05-16T18:55
Location: North Dakota

May 16, 2001 · NWS FGF · 2 events in 1 county or zone

2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 16, 1:45 PM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 1:45 PM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
245 PM CDT WED MAY 16 2001

.CURRENT/MODEL OVERVIEW...LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS DEVELOPING
LOW PRESSURE OVER SOUTHEAST MONTANA IN RESPONSE TO VIGOROUS 50H
SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO MONTANA ATTM. ANALYSIS TOOLS CURRENTLY SHOWING
DRY DEW POINT AIR AT 85H...BUT MOISTURE IS BEGINNING TO STREAM
NORTHWARD INTO WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON. REGIONAL RADAR
LOOP IN COMBINATION WITH SATELLITE AND LIGHTENING DATA INDICATE
THUNDERSTORMS ERUPTING IN SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA AHEAD OF SURFACE
LOW. ETA DID A REAL GOOD JOB WITH INITIALIZATION OF PARAMETERS. AS
AVN SEEMS TO WEAK WITH SHORTWAVE COMING ACROSS THE FA TONIGHT.

.TONIGHT...WEAK TROF WILL WORK ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA INTO MINNESOTA
TONIGHT. HOWEVER...BEST FORCING AND INSTABILITY PARAMETERS ARE
ALOFT. AS VIGOROUS 50H WAVE APPROACHES THE AREA TONIGHT AND CLOSES
OFF IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. THIS IN COMBINATION WITH GOOD JET
DYNAMICS WILL SUPPORT THE CONTINUATION OF THE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING IN SOUTHWEST NORTH
DAKOTA TO RIDE EAST AND NORTHEAST TONIGHT. BEST DIVERGENCE ALOFT AND
Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE IN THE 850MB-500MB LAYER WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE
NORTHERN VALLEY INTO NORTHWEST MINNESOTA WOULD SEE BEST AREAL
COVERAGE. WITH SCATTERED ELSEWHERE. AM STILL IN LIMBO ABOUT WHETHER
OR NOT WE CAN GET SOME SVR. BEST LI'S DO DROP TO -2 TO -4
TONIGHT...MAINLY TO THE NORTH WITH THE COOLER 50H TEMPERATURES
MOVING INTO THE AREA. GIVING THE STRENGTH OF THE WAVE...WOULD NOT BE
SURPRISED TO SEE SOME HAIL REPORTS...WITH THE CONVECTION BEING
ELEVATED IN NATURE.

.LONG TERM...BESIDES SOME LINGERING MORNING SHOWERS IN NORTHWEST
MINNESOTA...SKIES WILL BE CLEARING IN THE MORNING...BUT FORECAST
SOUNDINGS DO INDICATE THAT THE POTENTIAL FOR CU UP TOMORROW
AFTERNOON IS THERE ACROSS MAINLY THE NORTHERN FA. WINDY CONDITIONS
TO SET UP TOMORROW BEHIND BEHIND WAVE AND TROF TOMORROW.
OTHERWISE...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES INTO FRIDAY AND TEMPERATURES NEAR
NORMAL.

.EXTENDED...
TIMING OF SYSTEMS DOMINATE THE EXTENDED AS 50H PATTERN UNDERGOES
AMPLIFICATION AS A RIDGE BUILDS ALONG THE WEST COAST INTO WRN CANADA
AND A TROUGH DEVELOPS OVER THE WRN GREAT LAKES SUN-TUE TIME FRAME.
PREFER 12Z AVN/CANADIAN AS OPPOSED TO LAST NIGHTS MRF IN SHOWING NOT
AS MUCH DEEPENING OF THE WAVE TOWARD THE OHIO VALLEY.  ON
SATURDAY...QUICK 50H IMPULSE EJECTS EAST FROM IDAHO EAST INTO SD/MN
BY SAT EVENING.  EACH RUN OF THE MODELS MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH PCPN
WITH THIS FEATURE...WITH NEW 12Z CANADIAN MOST AGGRESSIVE OF THEM ALL
IN HAVING PCPN OVER ALL CWFA.  ATTM WILL INTRODUCE CHC SHOWERS TO
SRN CWFA SATURDAY.  SUNDAY...UPR AIR PATTERN UNDERGOES CHANGE AS
COLD FRONT SWINGS THROUGH WITH SHRA/TSRA THEN MUCH COOLER WX MONDAY
WITH INSTABILITY SHOWERS AS 50H LOW DEVELOPS IN NRN MN.  THEN DRY
AND MILDER TUE-WED.  WILL USE BLEND OF COOLER MEX AND WARMER FMR.

.FGF...NONE.

BRAZZELL/RIDDLE

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 16, 2:22 PM CST, 4 hours 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
322 PM CDT WED MAY 16 2001

...ADDITIONAL REPORTS FROM THE EVENING OF 5/15/01...

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0453 PM    3 N GULLY                 MN   TORNADO
05/15/01   POLK                           15 FEET WIDE TORNADO PATH
                                          THROUGH PASTURE AND GROVE
                                          OF TREES.

0502 PM    3 N GULLY                 MN   1.25 INCH HAIL
05/15/01   POLK

NNNN

Local storm report, May 16, 6:01 PM CST, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
701 PM CDT WED MAY 16 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0412 PM    2 NE BROOKS               MN   TORNADO
05/15/01   RED LAKE                       TORNADO TRAVELLING EAST
                                          SEVERAL BRIEF TOUCHDOWNS

0423 PM    3 W OKLEE                 MN   TORNADO
05/15/01   RED LAKE                       TORNADO VEERING NORTH
                                          INTERMITTENT TOUCHDOWNS

0435 PM    1 NE OKLEE                MN   TORNADO
05/15/01   RED LAKE                       TORNADO MOVING EAST
                                          INTERMITTENT TOUCHDOWNS

0512 PM    3 NNE SHEVLIN             MN   TORNADO
05/15/01   CLEARWATER                     TORNADO MOVING NORTHEAST
                                          BRIEF TOUCHDOWNS

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:49 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Grand Forks

When: May 16, 6:47 PM CST
Where: Grand Forks County, Grand Forks
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 47.917, -97.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Grand Forks

When: May 16, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Grand Forks County, Grand Forks
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 47.917, -97.050

Numerous large branches were blown off trees.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, May 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: 5250478, 5250479.