A wildfire began approximately 16 miles north of Marmarth midday on the 23rd after smoldering for several hours following early morning lightning activity. Low live fuel moisture levels due to an ongoing severe drought, combined with west winds of 15 to 25 mph and relative humidity values near 25 percent, produced explosive fire growth conditions.
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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 wildfire began approximately 16 miles north of Marmarth midday on the 23rd after smoldering for several hours following early morning lightning activity. Low live fuel moisture levels due to an ongoing severe drought, combined with west winds of 15 to 25 mph and relative humidity values near 25 percent, produced explosive fire growth conditions. The wildfire burned through rugged terrain in the North Dakota badlands, producing flames as high as 30 feet tall. Numerous local, state, and federal agencies worked to contain the blaze, which consumed 2,404.8 acres, including 2,059.0 acres of U.S. Forest Service land and 345.8 acres of private pasture. The perimeter of the fire was controlled by the morning of the 24th, but the fire was not 100 percent contained until the 29th.
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 23, 1:30 AM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 230 AM CDT WED JUL 23 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT... THE FORECAST CONCERNS FOR THIS PERIOD ARE CHANCES THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT AND AGAIN TOMORROW AFTERNOON. AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IS STILL IN PLACE AFTER THE MCS MOVED THROUGH LAST NIGHT INTO THIS MORNING. A DEVELOPING COOL FRONT SITS TO JUST OUR WEST ALONG THE MONTANA/NORTH DAKOTA BORDER. DEW POINTS AHEAD OF THE FRONT REMAIN IN THE LOWER TO MID 60S WHILE BEHIND THE FRONT THEY ARE IN THE MID TO UPPER 50S. A STRONG CAPES REMAINS IN PLACE AHEAD OF THE FRONT BUT SUFFICIENT CAPE...2000+...AND BULK SHEAR...25 TO 35KTS...IS EXPECTED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON WEST AND EARLY THIS EVENING ACROSS CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE STATE. THE MAIN IMPULSE MOVING THIS FRONT THROUGH WILL LIFT FARTHER NORTHEASTWARD INTO CANADA BY THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS CHANCES DECREASE TONIGHT FROM WEST TO EAST AS THE STORMS BECOME MORE ELEVATED. THE FRONT WILL BE ALONG A LINE FROM DEVILS LAKE TO JAMESTOWN BY 12Z WEDNESDAY WERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY STILL BE ONGOING. A SECOND IMPULSE NOW MOVING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST WILL MOVE THROUGH TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ENOUGH INSTABILITY WILL BE IN THE AREA FOR MORE THUNDERSTORMS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. NOT EXPECTING ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TOMORROW. RIDGING STARTS TO BUILD BACK INTO THE REGION LATE THURSDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM PASSES TO OUR EAST. HEIGHTS WILL SLOWLY REBOUND FRIDAY BEFORE ANOTHER SYSTEM LOOKS TO PUSH THE RIDGE BACK DOWN AGAIN AS IT APPROACHES THE NORTHERN PLAINS LATE IN THE DAY ON SATURDAY. EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO BE NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY THROUGHOUT THE SHORT TERM. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... MAIN UPPER LEVEL HUDSON BAY LOW AND LOW OFF WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA WITH WEAK BROAD RIDGE OVER CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA. KEPT PRECIP CHANCES OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...WITH MODELS STRENGTHENING THE RIDGE ON WEDNESDAY. IN CENTRAL/EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...KEPT MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS OUT ON SUNDAY/MONDAY AS RIDGE DEVIATES FROM ZONAL TO NORTHWESTERLY...WITH MORE INFLUENCE FROM THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE HUDSON BAY LOW. SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES WITH HIGHS MAINLY IN THE 80S AND LOWS AROUND 60. && .AVIATION... SURFACE LOW OVER EASTERN SASKATCHEWAN AND THROUGH THE WESTERN DAKOTAS. THIS FEATURE IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AND MOVE INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY BEFORE NOON ON THURSDAY. MAIN AVIATION HAZARDS INCLUDE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AND ACCOMPANYING LOW CLOUDS. THE MAIN AREAS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDER OVER CENTRAL/EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA WILL MOVE EAST INTO THE RED RIVER VALLEY TODAY ASSOCIATED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE. REDEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ALONG AND EAST OF THE SURFACE LOW/TROUGH OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA BY EARLY/MID AFTERNOON...SOME OF WHICH WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE WITH WINDS GUSTING TO 60 MPH AND HEAVY RAIN. ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL WAVE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHEASTERN SASKATCHEWAN EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS AREA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST ACROSS NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. STRONG SOUTHEAST WINDS AHEAD OF THE LOW WILL EXTEND TO FROM 1000 FEET TO BEYOND 5000 FEET IN EXCESS OF 40KTS - THE LOW LEVEL JET AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM. && .HYDROLOGY... PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES APPROACHING 1.90 INCHES...STRONG THETA-E ADVECTION AND MOISTURE FLUX AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT ACROSS WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA POINT TO HEAVY RAINFALL AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING AS A THREAT WITH THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP EAST OF THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONT. THE HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY DOMINANT WARM PRECIPITATION PROCESSES IN THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WITH LOW CENTROID CORES BELOW THE HAIL PRODUCTION ZONE WITH A DEEP IN CLOUD WARM LAYER WITH FREEZING LEVELS NEAR 16 KFT...THIN CAPE PROFILES...SLOW STORM MOTION AND K-INDEX VALUES NEAR 40. FURTHERMORE... ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP OVER A 50-70 MILE WIDE SWATH OF 1.00+ INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM LIGNITE TO WING WILL POSE A FLOOD THREAT ON ALREADY SATURATED SOILS. JAMESTOWN RECEIVED 1.59 INCHES OF RAINFALL BETWEEN 18-1852Z AS RESULT A OF A LOW CENTROID THUNDERSTORM WITHIN THE ABOVE STORM ENVIRONMENT. A URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CDT FOR THE SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF STUTSMAN COUNTY. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS OVER THIS AREA WILL HAVE TO BE CLOSELY MONITORED FOR FLOODING POTENTIAL. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && HW/DC/JV/PA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 340 AM CDT WED JUL 23 2008 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-240845- 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- 340 AM CDT WED JUL 23 2008 /240 AM MDT WED JUL 23 2008/ 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 TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING AS A STRONG SURFACE FRONT PUSHES SLOWLY ACROSS THE STATE...AIDED BY A SIGNIFICANT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. A FEW STRONG STORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY SOUTH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED. NH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning induced wildfire was reported north of Marmarth early in the morning of the 23rd. The wildfire consumed over 2,400 acres before being 100 percent contained on the 29th. No damage and no injuries were reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, July 2008
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: 124063.