North Dakota, 2002

Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, August 28, 2002

August 28, 2002 · NWS FGF · 12 events in 3 counties and zones

8 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

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 28, 2:00 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 28, 2:00 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
300 PM CDT WED AUG 28 2002

FORECAST CHALLENGE IS PRECIPITATION. LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS
CLOUDS COVER MAINLY OVER N PARTS OF AREA...WITH SCATTERED CLOUD
COVER ELSEWHERE. KMVX HAS CONVECTION IN FAR E COUNTIES. CURRENT MSAS
SURFACE ANALYSIS HAS LOW CENTERED MOBRIDGE AND ABR...WITH INVERTED
TROF EXTENDING THROUGH AREA ALONG A JMS-GFK-HCO LINE. WHEN COMPARING
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS TO MODEL INITIALIZATIONS...AVN CLOSEST.
SURFACE LOW AND INVERTED TROF MOVE BARELY E OVERNIGHT (TO ALONG A
FAR-BDE LINE BY 12Z THU)...KEEPING THETA-E RIDGE...GOOD
INSTABILITY...MID LEVEL LIFT...SURFACE MOISTURE CONVERGENCE...OVER
MUCH OF AREA THROUGH THE NIGHT. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE
PRECIPITABLE WATERS FROM 1.25 TO 1.75 INCHES...WITH WEAK FLOW
THROUGH MUCH OF THE COLUMN AND THICKNESS DIFFLUENCE OVER THE
AREA...HEAVY RAIN WITH TRAINING STORMS POSSIBLE AGAIN TONIGHT. WITH
CAPES STILL 2000-3000 OVER AREA AND NO CAP...ALREADY HAVE HAD SEVERE
HAIL...SO WILL KEEP MENTION OF SEVERE POTENTIAL FOR E COUNTIES. AS A
RESULT...ISSUED FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF AREA EXCEPT DVL PORTION AND
EXTREME NE ND AND NW MN THROUGH TONIGHT. THANKS TO BIS (FGF BACKING
UP)...MSP AND DLH FOR COORD.

SFC LOW WASHES OUT OVER AREA ON THU...AS 700MB AND 500MB TROFS ALONG
WITH UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE MOVE THROUGH.  WITH PLENTY OF LOW TO MID
LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINING AND INVERTED TROF STILL IN AREA...
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. TROFS AND SHORTWAVE LIFT
THROUGH E PART OF AREA ON THU NIGHT...SO KEPT CHC OF STORMS. BY 12Z
FRI...NEXT SURFACE FRONT MOVES INTO CENTRAL ND AND SD...BRINGING A
CHANCE OF STORMS TO DVL ON FRI AND THE REST OF AREA BY FRI NIGHT.
THIS FRONT MOVES SLOWLY THROUGH AREA...KEEPING CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE REGION THROUGH SAT AND INTO SAT NIGHT.

EXTENDED...MAJORITY OF EXTENDED MODELS (CANADIAN/ECMWF/AVN) TRENDING
TOWARDS LESS AMPLIFICATION/MORE ZONAL FLOW INTO FIRST HALF OF NEXT
WEEK. INITIALLY TIMING IS MAIN CONCERN HOWEVER WILL NEED TO CONTINUE
WITH PCPN CHANCES. LOOKS TO BE A BRIEF BREAK TUESDAY BEFORE SW FLOW
ALOFT KICKS IN AGAIN WITH SFC LOW PRESSURE MOVING IN MID WEEK.
COOLEST DAY LOOKS TO BE EARLY (SUN) WITH PASSAGE OF COLD FRONT
FOLLOWED BY NEAR OR BLO SEASONAL VALUES UNTIL RECOVERY MIDWEEK.

.FGF...FLOOD WATCH ALL OF FA EXCEPT DVL REGION AND EXTREME NE ND AND
NW MN.

NG/VOELKER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 28, 1:12 PM CST, 2 hours 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS, ND
212 PM CDT WED AUG 28 2002

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

0200 PM    1 NW BAD MEDICINE LAKE    MN   .88 INCH HAIL
08/28/02   BECKER                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

0200 PM    1 S LONG LOST LAKE        MN   .88 INCH HAIL
08/28/02   CLEARWATER                     REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 151 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:33 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Richland

When
August 28, 3:33 PM CST
Where
Richland County, Wahpeton
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.267, -96.600

Funnel Cloud, Richland

When
August 28, 4:27 PM CST
Where
Richland County, 10 mi NE of Hankinson
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.265, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Steele

When
August 28, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Steele County, 12 mi E of Finley
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.517, -97.600

Hail, Richland

When
August 28, 4:40 PM CST
Where
Richland County, Dwight
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.300, -96.733

Hail, Richland

When
August 28, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Richland County, 4 mi E of Hankinson
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.067, -96.817

Hail, Richland

When
August 28, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Richland County, 4 mi E of Hankinson
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.067, -96.817

Hail, Cass

When
August 28, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Cass County, 2 mi E of Kindred
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.650, -96.967

Flash Flood, Richland

When
August 28, 5:30 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Richland County, Wahpeton
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.265, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Street and basement flooding was reported after 2 to 6 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time. 30 cars were stalled at a number of intersections from the high water. The county courthouse sustained some water damage as well.

Hail, Cass

When
August 28, 6:05 PM CST
Where
Cass County, 2 mi NE of Ayr
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.050, -97.467

Hail, Cass

When
August 28, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Cass County, Ayr
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.033, -97.500

Tornado, Cass

When
August 28, 7:05 PM CST to 7:06 PM CST
Where
Cass County, 2 mi N of Lynchburg
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.817, -97.250

A brief touchdown broke off several large tree tops.

Flash Flood, Cass

When
August 28, 7:30 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where
Cass County, Fargo
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.933, -97.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Significant street flooding occurred along 13th avenue south and 43rd street.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
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

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 2002Warnings 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: 5317883, 5317884, 5317885, 5317886, 5317887, 5317888, 5317889, 5317892, 5317890, 5317891, 5317893, 5317894.