High Wind in North Dakota, July 11, 2008

Name: High Wind in North Dakota, July 11, 2008
Start: 2008-07-11T12:00
End: 2008-07-11T14:45
Location: North Dakota

July 11, 2008 · NWS BIS · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

High winds developed across southwest North Dakota during the morning and afternoon hours of Friday, July 11th, behind a cold front that pushed through the area the night before. Sustained winds of around 40 mph and a few gusts up to 60 mph were reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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: 14

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 Jul 11, 3:23 AM CST, 8 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 11, 3:23 AM CST, 8 hours 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
423 AM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008

.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT
SURFACE LOW OVER SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA EARLY THIS MORNING IS
PROGGED TO MOVE EAST ACROSS THE STATE TODAY. STRONG UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH/SHORTWAVE BEHIND THE SURFACE LOW WILL HELP PUSH THE LOW
ACROSS THE STATE. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP BEHIND THE
SURFACE LOW WITH COLD ADVECTION...DRY AIR...AND AN UPPER LEVEL JET
WITH H850 TO H700 WINDS TRANSLATING DOWN TO THE SURFACE. WILL
UPGRADE HIGH WIND WATCH TO A WARNING IN SOUTHWESTERN
COUNTIES...AND ALSO ISSUE A WIND ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE
REMAINING COUNTIES. ONGOING CONVECTION IN CANADA WITH SOME
CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY IN THE PAST HOUR OR SO BEGINNING IN WESTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AHEAD/ALONG THE SURFACE LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD
FRONT. ONGOING SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS SO FAR NOT PANNED
OUT...BUT UNCERTAINTY HERE AND AT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER AS
TO WHETHER POTENTIAL CONVECTION WILL BREAK A CAP WITH THE UPPER
LEVEL VORT PUSHING INTO THE AREA. HENCE WATCH REMAINS UNTIL 7 AM CDT.

WINDS WILL REMAIN THE FOCUS TONIGHT AND AGAIN ON SATURDAY AS
STRONG SURFACE LOW EXITS NORTHEASTWARD BUT UPPER LEVEL H850 50-55
KNOTS TRANSLATE DOWN TOWARDS THE SURFACE ON SATURDAY.

.LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE EXTENDED
FORECAST PERIOD WILL MAINTAIN THE PATTERN WE HAVE HAD FOR THE PAST
MONTH. A PATTERN THAT FEATURES THE ACTIVE WESTERLIES OVER NORTH
DAKOTA...ON AVERAGE SOUTH OF ITS NORMAL SEASONAL POSITION. THEN A
CYCLONIC FLOW AND THE UPPER JET WILL MAINTAIN A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON
AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST.

&&

.AVIATION...
A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE STATE TODAY. THE BEST CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE IN THE AFTERNOON AFTER THE FRONT HAS REACHED A
DEVILS LAKE / JAMESTOWN LINE. THE MAIN AVIATION HAZARD IN WESTERN
NORTH DAKOTA TODAY WILL BE WINDS TO 45 KT BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
FIRE WEATHER WATCH TO BE UPGRADED TO A RED FLAG WARNING TODAY WITH
STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH AND MINIMUM RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES OF AROUND 20 PERCENT. FIRE MANAGERS YESTERDAY
RECOMMENDED LOWERING PERCENT GREENNESS VALUES ACROSS NEARLY ALL
FIRE COUNTY GROUPINGS TO REFLECT CHANGING (DRYING) MOISTURE
CONDITIONS IN THE VEGETATION.

&&

.BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 AM CDT /9 AM MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 7 PM
CDT /6 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NDZ017>020-031>034-040>045.

RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM CDT /9 AM MDT/ THIS MORNING TO 7 PM
CDT /6 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NDZ031>033-040>045.

WIND ADVISORY FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING
FOR NDZ001>005-009>013-021>023-025-035>037-046>048-050-051.

&&

JV/RSL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, McKenzie

When: July 11, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: McKenzie forecast zone
Measured: 36 kt (41 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.740, -103.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bowman

When: July 11, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Bowman forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.113, -103.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Slope

When: July 11, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Slope forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.447, -103.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Golden Valley

When: July 11, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Golden Valley forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.940, -103.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Billings

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Billings forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.023, -103.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dunn

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.357, -102.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hettinger

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Hettinger forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.433, -102.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Mercer

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.309, -101.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Oliver

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Oliver forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.115, -101.340 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Morton

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Morton forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind, Grant

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.358, -101.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Sioux

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind, Stark

When: July 11, 12:30 PM CST to 2:30 PM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Adams

When: July 11, 12:45 PM CST to 2:45 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 46.097, -102.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, July 2008

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: 111961, 111962, 111963, 111964, 111958, 111959, 111965, 111966, 111967, 111968, 111969, 111970, 111971, 111960.