In the early afternoon of Thursday, June 26th, Severe Thunderstorm Watch 610 was issued due to severe thunderstorms developing along and ahead of a strong surface cold front, and ahead of an upper level short wave trough providing large scale ascent. Severe Thunderstorm Watch 613 was issued later Thursday evening, and included additional counties in the southeastern Bismarck County Warning Area.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
In the early afternoon of Thursday, June 26th, Severe Thunderstorm Watch 610 was issued due to severe thunderstorms developing along and ahead of a strong surface cold front, and ahead of an upper level short wave trough providing large scale ascent. Severe Thunderstorm Watch 613 was issued later Thursday evening, and included additional counties in the southeastern Bismarck County Warning Area.
Multiple severe thunderstorm warnings were issued. Multiple reports of large hail and several reports of severe thunderstorm wind gusts were received during the afternoon and evening hours.
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 Jun 26, 3:41 AM CST, 8 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 441 AM CDT THU JUN 26 2008 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT FORECAST CONCERNS/HIGHLIGHTS IN THE SHORT TERM WILL FOCUS ON THE TODAY/TONIGHT PERIOD WITH LIKELY STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS OVER THE FORECAST AREA. A GENERAL MODEL BLEND SEEMS APPROPRIATE OVER THE FIRST 24 HOURS OR SO...AS FRONTAL PLACEMENT AND TIMING SEEMS TO BE AGREED UPON BY MODELS. AFTER THIS MODEL SOLUTIONS DIVERGE A BIT...TO SOME DEGREE DUE TO CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK CONTAMINATION AS THE HPC MODEL DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION ALLUDED TO. THUS FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY HAVE LEANED A BIT MORE TOWARDS CONSISTENCY ALONG WITH THE LATEST SREF. CURRENTLY...ZONAL FLOW ALOFT OVER THE REGION WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE PUSHING TO THE SOUTHEAST. EMBEDDED S/WV IMPULSES MOVING ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA HELPING TO TRIGGER SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EARLY MORNING. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH HAS MOVED INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST/NORTHERN ROCKIES REGION AS EVIDENT VIA LATEST WATER VAPOR LOOP. THIS UPPER LEVEL WAVE WILL FURTHER DEVELOP A LEE SIDE TROUGH OFF TO OUR WEST THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED AS FAR AS MODEL GUIDANCE THROUGH THE TODAY AND TONIGHT PERIOD. STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP ACROSS EASTERN MT/WESTERN ND IN THE VICINITY OF THE SFC TROUGH/FRONTAL BOUNDARY EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON...WITH COVERAGE EXPANDING EAST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS THE TROUGH AXIS PUSHES ACROSS THE STATE...AND AS THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST INTO THE NORTHERN HIGH PLAINS PRODUCING LARGE SCALE ASCENT ACROSS THE LOCAL REGION. MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREATS TODAY/TONIGHT CONTINUE TO BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. MODEL STORM MOTION IS RELATIVELY SLOW (10-15KTS) THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...SO LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE POSSIBLE AND THUS ELEVATED FLASH FLOODING POTENTIAL. ANOTHER CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES GIVEN STORM MODE LOOKS DISCRETE WITH SUPERCELLS INITIALLY...BEFORE STORM MODE EVOLVES INTO AN MCS STRUCTURE LATER IN THE DAY/EVENING. 0-1KM BULK SHEAR VALUES SUFFICIENT FOR STRONG LOW LEVEL VORTICITY ALONG THE FRONT...IN ADDITION TO STORM RELATIVE FLOW VECTORS AT THE BOUNDARY LAYER AND ANVIL HEIGHT NEARLY DIRECTIONALLY OPPOSED (GREATER BAROCLINICALLY ENHANCED VORTICITY). WELL MENTION THESE HAZARDS WITHIN THE HWO. AS THE UPPER LOW CENTER DROPS INTO SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA LATE TONIGHT AND INTO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE FRIDAY...MODERATE CAA WILL OVERRUN THE LOCAL REGION CREATING GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS. AS OF NOW MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THESE WINDS WILL STAY BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS FOR FRIDAY. WILL SEE CONTINUED CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY (NON-SEVERE EXPECTED) AS THE UPPER TROUGH/CLOSED LOW SWINGS THROUGH THE AREA...AND STEEP LAPSE RATES DEVELOP UNDER COLD AIR ALOFT. COOLER TEMPS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS WELL UNDERNEATH THE UPPER LOW WITH DAYTIME HIGHS MAINLY IN THE 70S. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY... STRONG RIDGING WILL INHIBIT CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ON WEDNESDAY THE RIDGE BECOMES SO NEGATIVELY TILTED THAT WE BECOME INFLUENCED BY SHORTWAVES ORBITING THE HUDSON BAY LOW. THIS CHANGE IN THE PATTERN WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. && .AVIATION... THE MAIN AVIATION HAZARD TODAY WILL BE THUNDERSTORMS AS A COLD FRONT SWEEPS ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSHOWERS WILL LINGER THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA...BUT THE BIG ACTION WILL BE IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && NH/RSL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 524 AM CDT THU JUN 26 2008 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-271030- 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- 524 AM CDT THU JUN 26 2008 /424 AM MDT THU JUN 26 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 A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL COMBINE WITH FAVORABLE LOW LEVEL AND UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS TO SUPPORT STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...ISOLATED TORNADOES...AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL ARE ALL POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. STAY TUNED TO LOCAL MEDIA AND YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BISMARCK FOR FURTHER UPDATES...AND FOR LIKELY WATCHES AND WARNINGS THROUGHOUT TODAY AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE BOTH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE MINIMAL HOWEVER. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NH
The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 193 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:08 UTC.
15 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
This hail fell at the Fort Union National Historic Site. Most of the hail was one inch in diameter. About a dozen windows were broken.
Hail up to the size of golf balls caused a swath of damage in this area of McKenzie County. Damage was sustained to vehicles, homes, crops, and trees.
A funnel cloud was reported near Velva by Minot Air Force Base personnel.
Up to quarter size hail was reported across the Hazen area.
High thunderstorm wind gusts snapped a six to ten inch diameter tree branch which caused damage to a parked vehicle. There were no injuries.
Hail was reported at Prairie Knights Resort.
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, June 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: 121598, 103461, 103442, 103443, 103444, 103446, 103447, 103440, 103448, 103457, 103450, 103458, 103451, 103459, 103452, 103453, 103454, 103455, 103456.