A low pressure system developing in eastern Montana created a tight pressure gradient over western and central North Dakota. This resulted in high winds during the late morning and afternoon hours of Thursday, May 3rd.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BIS wrote it up.
A low pressure system developing in eastern Montana created a tight pressure gradient over western and central North Dakota. This resulted in high winds during the late morning and afternoon hours of Thursday, May 3rd. All winds were below warning criteria with the exception of Dickinson in Stark County. Sustained winds here reached 45 mph with gusts to 56 mph around 11:03 AM MST.
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 May 3, 2:14 AM CST, 9 hours 46 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 314 AM CDT THU MAY 3 2007 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT... FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS/CONCERNS IN THE SHORT TERM WILL AGAIN CENTER AROUND STRONG WINDS AND FIRE WEATHER HAZARDS TODAY...AND AN INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON WEST...THEN OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THE GFS HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY TRENDING SLOWER TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN MODEL...SO HAVE SIDED A BIT CLOSER TO THE SLOWER SOLUTIONS OF THE ECMWF AND UKMET. CURRENTLY...A STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS ACROSS THE REGION WITH DEEP LOW PRESSURE WEST AND HIGH PRESSURE JUST NORTH OF THE GREAT LAKES. SOUTHEAST WINDS EARLY THIS MORNING ARE SUSTAINED AT 15 TO 20 MPH WITH SOME GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH. ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE ABOUT 5 TO 10 MPH STRONGER. GOOD LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG WITH MID LEVEL ENERGY HAS TRIGGERED A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN MONTANA...WHICH ARE TRACKING NORTH ALONG SOUTHERLY UPPER LEVEL FLOW. MAY SEE A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM SKIRT THE BORDER YET THIS MORNING...BUT MOST ACTIVITY WILL STAY OFF TO OUR WEST. STRONG SOUTHEAST WINDS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP LATER THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON...A BIT STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT CONSTRICTS A BIT MORE. WILL BE GOING WITH ANOTHER WIND ADVISORY RATHER THAN A HIGH WIND WARNING THOUGH AS I AM ONLY GETTING AROUND 40 KTS MIXING DOWN TOWARDS THE SURFACE. IT WILL BE CLOSER IN THE SUSTAINED WIND DEPARTMENT...30-33 KNOTS AT DIK...BUT THINK AN ADVISORY WOULD SUFFICE AS THE MORNING CREW CAN ALWAYS UPGRADE IF THEY SO DESIRE. IN REGARDS TO FIRE WEATHER HEADLINES...LOOKS LIKE WE WILL REACH RED FLAG CRITERIA AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON WITH WINDS 30 TO 40 MPH AND MINIMUM RH VALUES AT AROUND 30 PERCENT. IN ADDITION...FIRE WEATHER MANAGEMENT FOLKS HERE HAVE VOICED THEIR OPINION FAVORING A RED FLAG GIVEN THE GUSTY WINDS AND DRY FUELS ACROSS THE STATE. SEE NO REASON TO DISAGREE SO WILL ISSUE ANOTHER RED FLAG WARNING AS THE RFD INDEX IS ALSO ONCE AGAIN IN THE EXTREME CATEGORY FOR MUCH OF WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. LEFT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN FOR THE DAYTIME TODAY OVER THE FAR WEST. LOOKING LIKE THE MAJORITY OF STORMS THOUGH WILL DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON OVER THE HIGH PLAINS OF WYOMING AND MONTANA CLOSER TO THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY...THEN ADVECT NORTH/NORTHEAST INTO MY SOUTHWESTERN COUNTIES THIS EVENING. AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT THE SURFACE BOUNDARY PUSHES EAST ACROSS MY WESTERN COUNTIES...AND WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR AREAS OF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING AND SPREADING EASTWARD OVERNIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. THERE WILL BE SOME SEVERE POTENTIAL...MORE SO ACROSS THE WEST THIS EVENING WHERE BETTER SHEAR AND INSTABILITY WILL BE LOCATED. HAVE GENERALLY LEFT THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT TERM UNTOUCHED WITH ONLY MINOR EDITS. THE PAST SEVERAL GFS MODEL RUNS HAVE TRENDED FAIRLY CONSISTENTLY TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN MODEL...WHICH HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT WITH ITS TIMING AND PLACEMENT OF MAIN FEATURES...MAINLY SLOWING THE EASTWARD PROGRESSION OF THE LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ACROSS THE PLAINS. OVERALL WILL BE A WET AND COOL FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AS THE SURFACE TROUGH STALLS ACROSS THE REGION. IN ADDITION...SEVERAL WAVES OF MID LEVEL ENERGY...ALONG WITH FAVORABLE JET DYNAMICS...WILL ROTATE AROUND THE UPPER TROUGH AND THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS PROVIDING PLENTY OF MID AND UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT FOR PRECIPITATION. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... ONCE AGAIN I HAVE RELIED ON THE SLOWER AND MORE ACTIVE ECMWF MODEL FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. CONSEQUENTLY I CONTINUED A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE AFOREMENTIONED PERIOD. && .AVIATION... IN A REPEAT OF YESTERDAYS PATTERN STRONG SOUTHEAST SURFACE WINDS WILL GUST OVER 30KT AS DEEP LOW PRESSURE REMAINS STATIONARY OVER MONTANA. LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP OVER EASTERN MONTANA AND SOME WILL LIKELY DRIFT INTO THE WESTERN PART OF OUR STATE BEFORE SUNSET...AND THEN SPREAD TO THE CENTRAL OVERNIGHT. && .FIRE WEATHER... SECOND VERSE...SAME AS THE FIRST. IN A CLOSE REPEAT OF WEDNESDAY...GUSTY SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WILL REDEVELOP THIS MORNING AND PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY. GUSTS DURING THE AFTERNOON WILL BE AROUND 45 MPH...WITH 50 MPH GUSTS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST. AFTERNOON HUMIDITIES WILL BE HIGHER THAN YESTERDAY...AROUND 30 TO 35 PERCENT...BUT STILL ON THE DRY SIDE ESPECIALLY WHEN COMBINED WITH THESE STRONG WINDS. WILL ISSUE ANOTHER RED FLAG WARNING DUE TO THE EXPECTED WEATHER CONDITIONS AND DRY FUELS. THIS WILL BE VALID DURING MID THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING...DURING THE TIME PEAK WINDS AND LOW RH VALUES COINCIDE. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FROM 9 AM CDT /8 AM MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025- 031>037-040>048-050-051. WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 AM CDT /8 AM MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ FRIDAY FOR NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037- 040>048-050-051. && NH/RSL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 417 AM CDT THU MAY 3 2007 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-040930- 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- 417 AM CDT THU MAY 3 2007 /317 AM MDT THU MAY 3 2007/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL REDEVELOP THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON SPREADING FURTHER EAST THIS AFTERNOON. THESE STRONG WINDS WILL THEN PERSIST INTO TONIGHT. AT THIS TIME WIND MAGNITUDES ARE FORECAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS POSSIBLE. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM MID-MORNING TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. DUE TO THE EXPECTED STRONG WINDS...THERE WILL AGAIN BE FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EARLY EVENING. WARM AIR ADVECTION INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL CREATE AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES OF 25 TO 30 PERCENT OVER WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. DUE TO LOW PERCENT GREEN VALUES...AND THE RANGELAND FIRE DANGER INDEX AGAIN IN THE EXTREME CATEGORY...A RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA TODAY THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. ALONG WITH WIND AND FIRE WEATHER HAZARDS TODAY...THERE WILL BE AN INCREASING CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEST TO EAST THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT INTO FRIDAY. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING ACROSS THE WEST. THE PRIMARY THREATS WOULD BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR A FEW SEVERE STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. NH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Automated Surface Observing System at Dickinson recorded this wind speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, May 2007
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: 22982.