North Dakota, 2002

Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 17, 2002

July 17, 2002 · NWS FGF · 8 events in 2 counties and zones

5 hail, 3 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
$40,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

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 Jul 17, 9:10 AM CST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 9:10 AM CST, 50 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1010 AM CDT WED JUL 17 2002

...MAIN CHALLENGE FOR THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES
AND SKY COVER...

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONS...
MCS CURRENTLY MOVING INTO NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA ALONG TIGHT 850MB
DEWPOINT GRADIENT. DO NOT EXPECT ANY FLOODING PROBLEMS WITH THIS
FIRST ROUND OF PRECIPITATION. HOWEVER...AREAS THAT HAVE
PRECIPITATION THIS MORNING WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED IF ANOTHER ROUND
MOVES INTO THE AREA. TEMPERATURES AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM ARE NEAR 80
DEGREES FROM THE RED RIVER VALLEY AND POINTS EAST. MAY NEED TO BUMP
TEMPERATURES UP FOR THE BEMIDJI AND FARGO ZONES AND BRING THUNDER IN
A LITTLE EARLIER. WILL ADJUST CLOUD WORDING FOR DEVILS LAKE AREA TO
BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY.

.FGF...FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR PORTIONS OF THE RED RIVER NEAR
OSLO.
FLOOD WATCH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE ENTIRE CWA.

DONAVON

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 17, 5:50 AM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-171300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
650 AM CDT WED JUL 17 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

.SYNOPSIS...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME POSSIBLE SEVERE...ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND NORTH OF AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDRY AS A
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES EAST ALONG THE BOUNDRY.  THE OLD FRONTAL
SYSTEM REMAINS STATIONARY FROM NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO THE
MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD.

.AREA OF CONCERN...EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
SOUTH OF US HIGHWAY 2.

.TIME...BEGINNING AFTER 2 PM IN THE DEVILS LAKE REGION AND
SPREADING EAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING

.TYPE OF HAZARD...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WITH ISOLATED
TORNADOS POSSIBLE.

KENNEDY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Barnes

When
July 17, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Barnes County, 6 mi SW of Sibley
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.133, -98.017

Hail, Barnes

When
July 17, 10:25 AM CST
Where
Barnes County, 3 mi N of Oriska
Measured
2 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.983, -97.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Barnes

When
July 17, 10:30 AM CST
Where
Barnes County, 4 mi E of Oriska
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.933, -97.767

A semi truck was blown off Interstate 94. The truck was not carrying any cargo.

Hail, Cass

When
July 17, 10:35 AM CST to 10:55 AM CST
Where
Cass County, Tower City
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.933, -97.667

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When
July 17, 10:40 AM CST
Where
Cass County, Tower City
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.933, -97.667

Grain bins were damaged and trees were blown down in Tower City. Three of the city's 8 streets were blocked by trees and power was out for 4 hours. One tree fell on a church, causing substantial damage.

Hail, Cass

When
July 17, 11:10 AM CST
Where
Cass County, 3 mi N of Alice
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.817, -97.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When
July 17, 11:10 AM CST
Where
Cass County, 3 mi N of Alice
Property damage
$200
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.817, -97.550

Trees were blown down.

Hail, Cass

When
July 17, 11:30 AM CST
Where
Cass County, 7 mi NW of Leonard
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.717, -97.350

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, July 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: 5303654, 5303655, 5303656, 5303657, 5303658, 5303659, 5303660, 5303661.