Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, August 23, 2002

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, August 23, 2002
Start: 2002-08-23T16:20
End: 2002-08-23T18:50
Location: North Dakota

August 23, 2002 · NWS FGF · 18 events in 5 counties and zones

14 hail, 3 tornado, 1 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: $200
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 18

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 Aug 23, 12:09 PM CST, 4 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 12:09 PM CST, 4 hours 11 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
109 PM CDT FRI AUG 23 2002

...FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE PRECIPITATION CHANCES OVERNIGHT...

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONS...
WEAK SURFACE FRONT LOCATED WELL NORTH OF THE BORDER AND IS SLOWLY
MOVING SOUTH. SHORT WAVE EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY ALONG AND
AHEAD OF FRONT. A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES HAVE BEEN NOTED ALONG FRONT.
DEWPOINTS ACROSS AREA REMAIN IN THE MID 60S WITH ALL MODELS
UNDERDOING THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE.

.SHORT TERM...
MAIN CHALLENGE IS THUNDER OVERNIGHT. SOME LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PRESENT
BUT LIMITED ABOVE THIS LAYER. SOME WEAK SURFACE/850MB CONVERGENCE
AND INSTABILITY TONIGHT. WILL PUT ISOLATED MENTION ACROSS MUCH OF
THE FORECAST AREA(FA) WITH SLIGHTLY HIGHER POPS ACROSS NORTHWEST
MINNESOTA.

.MID TERM...
WEAK SURFACE HIGH WILL PUSH FRONT SOUTH OF FA ON SATURDAY AND WILL
KEEP PRECIPITATION OUT OF THE REGION UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT. BY SUNDAY
NIGHT...UPPER LEVEL LOW EJECTS OUT OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND INTO
THE NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS. SEVERAL WAVES EXPECTED TO ROTATE AROUND
SYSTEM AND WILL BRING CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE RED RIVER
VALLEY AND AREAS WEST INTO MONDAY...HOWEVER MOISTURE WILL BE LIMITED
WITH A BLOCKING PATTERN TO THE SOUTH.

.EXTENDED FORECAST...
ECMWF IS ODD MODEL OUT IS SHOWING AMPLIFYING UPR LOW AND COLD AIR
DROPPING SOUTHEAST TOWARD NRN MN BY 12Z THU.  NCEP
ENSEMBLES/NOGAPS/MRF/CANADIAN ALL GO AGAINST THIS SHOWING MAIN POLAR
JET AND COLD AIR WELL NORTH ACROSS NRN CANADA WITH MUCH WEAKER 50H
SYSTEMS DROPPING THRU NRN PLAINS TUE-WED TIME FRAME.  CANADIAN AND
NOGAPS ARE EVEN WEAKER THAN THE MRF AND WOULD IMPLY ONLY SMALL
CHANCES OF PCPN TUE-WED VERSUS HEAVIER QPF OF MRF.  BELIEVE THIS MAY
BE RIGHT.  WILL HOWEVER STILL KEEP CHC IN PER CURRENT EXTENDED FOR
TUE-WED...THEN DRY THU-FRI AND STILL MILD WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPS.

.FGF...NONE
DONAVON/RIDDLE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 23, 2:50 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>031-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-232345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
350 PM CDT FRI AUG 23 2002

...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS NORTHEAST
NORTH DAKOTA AND ADJACENT NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...

SYNOPSIS...
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT ACROSS EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. A WEAK COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH ACROSS THE REGION OVERNIGHT. MOISTURE
ASSOCIATED ALONG THE FRONT COUPLED WITH LIFT FROM AN UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE WILL ENHANCE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THIS EVENING ALONG
THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER...AS THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE INTO THE AREA
AFTER 5 PM.

AREA OF CONCERN...
NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND ADJACENT PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

TIME...
5 PM UNTIL 10 PM.

TYPE OF HAZARD...
LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT.

KELLENBENZ

NNNN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 hail, 3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Towner

When: August 23, 4:20 PM CST
Where: Towner County, 16 mi E of Hansboro
Property damage: $200
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.950, -99.017

Branches were blown down.

Hail, Cavalier

When: August 23, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Cavalier County, 3 mi NE of Olga
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.833, -97.983

Hail, Pembina

When: August 23, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 13 mi W of Cavalier
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.800, -97.900

Hail, Towner

When: August 23, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Towner County, 1 mi N of Perth
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.733, -99.450

Hail, Cavalier

When: August 23, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Cavalier County, 3 mi SE of Olga
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.767, -97.983

Hail, Pembina

When: August 23, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 2 mi NE of Concrete
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.767, -97.883

Hail, Towner

When: August 23, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Towner County, 5 mi NW of Bisbee
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.667, -99.467

Hail, Pembina

When: August 23, 5:28 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 2 mi E of Mountain
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.683, -97.800

Tornado, Pembina

When: August 23, 5:30 PM CST to 5:31 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 3 mi S of Mountain
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.633, -97.850

A brief tornado touchdown was reported.

Hail, Pembina

When: August 23, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 2 mi E of Mountain
Measured: 2 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.683, -97.800

Hail, Cavalier

When: August 23, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Cavalier County, 3 mi SE of Alsen
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.600, -98.650

Hail, Ramsey

When: August 23, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Ramsey County, 8 mi NW of Edmore
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.500, -98.567

Hail, Pembina

When: August 23, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 2 mi NW of Crystal
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.617, -97.700

Hail, Walsh

When: August 23, 6:02 PM CST
Where: Walsh County, Hoople
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.533, -97.633

Hail, Pembina

When: August 23, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Pembina County, 3 mi S of Crystal
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.550, -97.667

Tornado, Ramsey

When: August 23, 6:20 PM CST to 6:23 PM CST
Where: Ramsey County, 2 mi NE of Lawton
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 48.317, -98.333

This tornado crossed into Walsh county.

Tornado, Walsh

When: August 23, 6:23 PM CST to 6:26 PM CST
Where: Walsh County, 17 mi W of Lankin
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 48.317, -98.283

This tornado originated in Ramsey county.

Hail, Ramsey

When: August 23, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Ramsey County, 10 mi E of Webster
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 48.283, -98.650

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Dakota, 2002 Warnings in North Dakota, August 2002

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: 5317465, 5317471, 5317472, 5317473, 5317466, 5317474, 5317475, 5317530, 5317531, 5317532, 5317467, 5317468, 5317533, 5317534, 5317469, 5317535, 5317536, 5317470.