Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, August 26, 2007

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, August 26, 2007
Start: 2007-08-26T18:45
End: 2007-08-26T20:08
Location: North Dakota

August 26, 2007 · NWS BIS · 5 events in 2 counties and zones

In the late afternoon of Sunday, August 26th, Tornado Watch 653 was issued in anticipation of severe thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front situated across western North Dakota. Strong low level wind shear ahead of the front and MLCAPE values near 3500 j/kg increased the potential for tornadic supercells.

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: $250,000
Crop damage: $515,000
Events: 5

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 happened

The episode as NWS BIS wrote it up.

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 Aug 26, 2:17 PM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 26, 2:17 PM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
317 PM CDT SUN AUG 26 2007

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...
THE APPROACH OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL PUSH A COLD FRONT ACROSS
CENTRAL AND EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING. CAPPING IS STRONG
BUT THE 4KM NNM WRF FORECASTS A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM
BISMARCK NORTHEAST FROM 23Z ON. I HAVE USED THIS MODEL FOR
TONIGHTS FORECAST. THEN A SHALLOW UPPER TROUGH WILL LINGER OVER
NORTH DAKOTA THROUGH TUESDAY. MULTIPLE WAVES IN THIS CYCLONIC FLOW
WILL KICK OFF SHOWERS FROM TIME TO TIME.

THEN UPPER LEVEL RIDGING ARRIVES WEDNESDAY TO DRY THINGS OUT.

LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE DOMINATES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH DRY WEATHER
AND WARMING TEMPERATURES. WARMED HIGHS SLIGHTLY FRI AND SAT AHEAD OF
THE FRONT...80S TO AROUND 90 BASED UPON 850MB TEMP TRENDS. UPPER
RIDGE THEN FLATTENS SAT/SUN AS A COLD FRONT AND SEVERAL SHORTWAVES
TRAVERSE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS. BROUGHT SLIGHT CHC SHWRS/TSTMS
STARTING SAT NIGHT AND CONTINUED THIS THREAT THROUGH SUN.
&&

.AVIATION...A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING WILL SPARK SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT...MAINLY ALONG A LINE FROM NEAR MINOT
SOUTH TO BISMARCK AND AREAS EAST. BEHIND THE FRONT ON MONDAY...AREAS
OF MVFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED AS LOW CLOUDS DEVELOP.
&&

.BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

RSL/KS

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 26, 3:15 AM CST, 15 hours 30 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
415 AM CDT SUN AUG 26 2007

NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-270915-
DIVIDE-BURKE-RENVILLE-BOTTINEAU-ROLETTE-WILLIAMS-MOUNTRAIL-WARD-
MCHENRY-PIERCE-MCKENZIE-DUNN-MERCER-OLIVER-MCLEAN-SHERIDAN-WELLS-
FOSTER-GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-MORTON-BURLEIGH-KIDDER-
STUTSMAN-SLOPE-HETTINGER-GRANT-BOWMAN-ADAMS-SIOUX-EMMONS-LOGAN-
LA MOURE-MCINTOSH-DICKEY-
415 AM CDT SUN AUG 26 2007 /315 AM MDT SUN AUG 26 2007/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND
WEST NORTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL
NORTH DAKOTA LATE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG AND AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
WHICH WILL BE ALONG A LINE FROM DEVILS LAKE TO HETTINGER BY EARLY
EVENING. THE STRONGEST CAPE WILL BE EAST OF THE FRONT...BUT WITH A
GOOD CAP. THE CAP WILL BE WEAKEST ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...AND
LIFTING OVER THE FRONT MAY BE ENOUGH TO START ISOLATED CONVECTION.
AS THE FRONT MOVES EAST TONIGHT...THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
WILL BE IN THE FAR EASTERN COUNTIES. IF THUNDERSTORMS DO
DEVELOP...THE STRONG CAPE INDICATES A POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS. THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
TUESDAY...ALTHOUGH WITH MUCH WEAKER CAPE...THE POTENTIAL FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS MUCH LESS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Logan

When: August 26, 6:45 PM CST to 7:50 PM CST
Where: Logan County, 4 mi NNW of Napoleon to 20 mi ENE of Napoleon
Measured: 3.5 in hail
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: $500,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 46.553, -99.802

Multiple reports from various sources of large hail over north central and northeast Logan County, including in the city of Napoleon. Most of the hail was 1.50 to 2.50 inches in diameter. The largest stones were 3.50 inches diameter from 4 miles northeast of Napoleon to 8 miles northeast of Napoleon, and in the area 17 miles east of Napoleon. The swath of hail damage to crops was a few miles wide in spots. Reports came from law enforcement, newspapers, emergency management, weather spotters, and the public. The same supercell storm produced two tornadoes in Logan County on August 26.

Tornado, Logan

When: August 26, 7:05 PM CST to 7:20 PM CST
Where: Logan County, 6 mi NNW of Napoleon to 3 mi NNE of Napoleon
Rating: EF0
Path length: 4.42 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 46.580, -99.818

Public reported tornado touched down four times along this path. Tornado lifted to a funnel cloud and then touched down repeatedly. NWS storm damage survey also indicated this as the evidence was sporadic along the path, indicating the tornado was not on the ground the entire time / length. No structures impacted. Damage to crops. See the second tornado entry for Logan County August 26 for the same supercell storm. Also see the large hail entry, again from the same supercell.

Hail, Stutsman

When: August 26, 7:09 PM CST to 7:18 PM CST
Where: Stutsman County, Medina
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.880, -99.300

Tornado, Logan

When: August 26, 7:35 PM CST to 7:40 PM CST
Where: Logan County, 5 mi NE of Napoleon to 6 mi NE of Napoleon
Rating: EF0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 35 yd
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 46.551, -99.696

Damage to trees and hay and straw bales. Bales were blown a few hundred feet. NWS storm damage survey completed. No structures impacted. See the first tornado entry for Logan County August 26 for the same supercell storm. Also see the large hail entry, again from the same supercell.

Hail, Logan

When: August 26, 8:00 PM CST to 8:08 PM CST
Where: Logan County, 12 mi SW of Gackle
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.507, -99.308

What these are

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 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Dakota, 2007 Warnings in North Dakota, August 2007

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: 53321, 53323, 53319, 57088, 53320.