North Dakota, 2008

Hail in North Dakota, July 7, 2008

July 7, 2008 · NWS BIS · 2 events in 1 county or zone

In the mid afternoon hours of Monday, July 7th, Severe Thunderstorm Watch 664 was issued for parts of south central North Dakota in anticipation of an increasing severe thunderstorm threat as an upper level shortwave trough moved east-southeast across the state. Two reports of large hail were received later that afternoon in Foster County, in addition to the earlier significant tornado further…

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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

In the mid afternoon hours of Monday, July 7th, Severe Thunderstorm Watch 664 was issued for parts of south central North Dakota in anticipation of an increasing severe thunderstorm threat as an upper level shortwave trough moved east-southeast across the state. Two reports of large hail were received later that afternoon in Foster County, in addition to the earlier significant tornado further to the north across Rolette County. See the July 7 Tornadic Thunderstorm Event for further details on the tornado.

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 7, 1:55 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 1:55 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
255 PM CDT MON JUL 7 2008

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT
CURRENTLY A COLD FRONT IS MOVING THROUGH THE REGION...AND SOME
CONVECTION IS BEGINNING TO FIRE FROM SOUTHWEST OF BISMARCK TO JUST
EAST OF MINOT. THIS CONVECTION WILL ENCOUNTER A MORE FAVORABLE
ENVIRONMENT AS IT MOVES EAST...AND THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE
NUMEROUS AND SOME SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP. FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE FORECAST PERIOD THE WESTERLIES STAY OVER NORTH DAKOTA WITH A
SLIGHT CYCLONIC CURVATURE AND PASSING UPPER LOWS IN CANADA. THIS
WILL BRING A CONTINUING CHANCE OF ACTIVITY TO OUR REGION THIS WORK
WEEK. POPS HAVE BEEN INSERTED FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY
NIGHT WHEN THE STRONGEST WAVES COME THROUGH. HOWEVER ACTIVITY IS
POSSIBLE ON OTHER DAYS ALSO.

.LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT
THE TREND ALOFT IS FOR ZONAL FLOW WITH A SERIES OF WAVES MOVING
THROUGH.  EACH SHORT WAVE WILL INCREASE THE CHANCE OF CONVECTION BUT
TIMING WILL BE A PROBLEM.  CONSEQUENTLY...WILL HAVE ON AND OFF AGAIN
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EXTENDED WITH TEMPERATURES AT OR
A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL.

&&

.AVIATION...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED FROM NEAR THE
INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDENS...80 MILES NORTHEAST OF MINOT...ALONG A
CURVE THROUGH HARVEY...70 MILES EAST OF MINOT...TO NEAR ELGIN...50
MILES SOUTHWEST OF BISMARCK.  THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE FORMED ALONG
THE SURFACE TROUGH AND WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST THROUGH THE LATE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.  GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS BEHIND THE
TROUGH HAVE BROUGHT DRIER AIR...AND LITTLE CHANCE OF PRECIP ALTHOUGH
SMALL CONVECTIVE CUMULUS CAN BE EXPECTED.  CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE
THROUGH THE EVENING AS THE TROUGH MOVES EAST AND DRIER AIR MOVES
INTO THE AREA.

&&

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

TSW/RL
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 7, 3:39 AM CST, 11 hours 21 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
439 AM CDT MON JUL 7 2008

NDZ001>003-009>011-017>021-031>035-040>046-080945-
DIVIDE-BURKE-RENVILLE-WILLIAMS-MOUNTRAIL-WARD-MCKENZIE-DUNN-
MERCER-OLIVER-MCLEAN-GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-MORTON-BURLEIGH-
SLOPE-HETTINGER-GRANT-BOWMAN-ADAMS-SIOUX-EMMONS-
439 AM CDT MON JUL 7 2008 /339 AM MDT MON JUL 7 2008/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE DAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH. NORTHWEST WINDS OF
15 TO 30 MPH WILL DEVELOP OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA BEHIND THE
COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THERE IS A
POTENTIAL FOR SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS TO BECOME SEVERE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

NDZ004-005-012-013-022-023-025-036-037-047-048-050-051-080945-
BOTTINEAU-ROLETTE-MCHENRY-PIERCE-SHERIDAN-WELLS-FOSTER-KIDDER-
STUTSMAN-LOGAN-LA MOURE-MCINTOSH-DICKEY-
439 AM CDT MON JUL 7 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA THIS
AFTERNOON. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MORNING WITH
HEAVY RAIN BEING THE MAIN THREAT...WILL TRANSITION TO SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY
BE SEVERE WITH HEAVY RAINFALL...LARGE HAIL...AND DAMAGING WINDS
IN THE AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THERE IS A
POTENTIAL FOR SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS TO BECOME SEVERE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON IF THE
THUNDERSTORMS BECOME SEVERE.

KS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 7, 2:49 PM CST, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
349 PM CDT MON JUL 07 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0330 PM     TORNADO          1 NE ROLLA              48.87N 99.60W
07/07/2008                   ROLETTE            ND   CO-OP OBSERVER

            TORNADO JUST MISSED HOUSE ON SOUTH SIDE. HAIL 1 1/2 INCH

0330 PM     TORNADO          ROLLA                   48.86N 99.62W
07/07/2008                   ROLETTE            ND   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            3 OR 4 HOUSES DAMAGED BY TORNADO.

&&

LLP
Local storm report, Jul 7, 2:54 PM CST, 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
354 PM CDT MON JUL 07 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0225 PM     TORNADO          14 NE BOTTINEAU         48.97N 100.22W
07/07/2008                   BOTTINEAU          ND   PUBLIC

            TORNADO NEAR LAKE METIGOSHE.

0314 PM     TORNADO          ROLLA                   48.86N 99.62W
07/07/2008                   ROLETTE            ND   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TORNADO NEAR ROLLA DROPPED DOWN TWICE AND TOUCHED THE
            GROUND

&&

LLP
Local storm report, Jul 7, 2:56 PM CST, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
356 PM CDT MON JUL 07 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0314 PM     TORNADO          1 NW BELCOURT           48.85N 99.76W
07/07/2008                   ROLETTE            ND   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TORNADO ON THE GROUND 1 NORTH AND 1 WEST OF BELCOURT

0318 PM     TORNADO          2 N BELCOURT            48.87N 99.75W
07/07/2008                   ROLETTE            ND   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            TORNADO ON THE GROUND 2 NORTH OF BELCOURT

&&

LLP

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Foster

When
July 7, 3:00 PM CST to 3:15 PM CST
Where
Foster County, 0.47 mi E of Carrington
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
47.450, -99.120

Hail, Foster

When
July 7, 3:05 PM CST to 3:29 PM CST
Where
Foster County, 2.13 mi NNE of Melville
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.360, -99.020

What these are

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

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 111588, 111589.