Surface low pressure underneath a cold mid level vortex resulted in steep low level lapse rates and enhanced low level destabilization across southern North Dakota during the afternoon hours of the 16th. Tornado Watch 434 was issued early in the afternoon in anticipation of non-supercell tornadoes developing in the vicinity of the surface low.
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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.
Surface low pressure underneath a cold mid level vortex resulted in steep low level lapse rates and enhanced low level destabilization across southern North Dakota during the afternoon hours of the 16th. Tornado Watch 434 was issued early in the afternoon in anticipation of non-supercell tornadoes developing in the vicinity of the surface low. Two isolated tornadoes were reported during the afternoon along with one funnel cloud.
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 16, 1:36 AM MST, 9 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 336 AM CDT TUE JUN 16 2009 .SYNOPSIS... PROGRESSIVE FLOW ALONG THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE U.S. IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST AS TWO MAIN MIDDLE/UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVES EJECT OUT OF THE ALEUTIAN NEGATIVE HEIGHT ANOMALY AND INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. COMPLICATED MULTI-STREAM FLOW COMPRISED OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THESE NORTHERN STREAM WAVES AND IMPULSES EJECTING NORTHEASTWARD OUT OF THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. VORTEX WILL MAKE PRECIPITATION FORECASTING QUITE DIFFICULT THIS PERIOD. .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT A CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT KEPT REGENERATING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA MONDAY EVENING PRODUCED COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RAINFALL OVER SEVERAL COUNTIES. 3 TO 7 INCHES OF RAIN WAS RECEIVED IN THESE AREAS...MAINLY MORTON/BURLEIGH/KIDDER/EMMONS/GRANT/SIOUX COUNTIES. AN AREAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MORTON/BURLEIGH/KIDDER COUNTIES. CURRENTLY...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WAS OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND MORE VORT ENERGY IMPULSES CONTINUE MOVING NORTHWARD INTO NORTH DAKOTA. A LOW LEVEL JET IN PLACE WAS KEEPING A STEADY FLOW OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE SYSTEM. THE UPPER LOW IS FORECAST TO STALL OVER NORTH DAKOTA TODAY AND TONIGHT...AND FINALLY LIFT NORTHEAST INTO MANITOBA ON WEDNESDAY. PRECIPITABLE WATER REMAINS OVER AN INCH OVER MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. H850 DEWPOINTS REMAIN AT OR ABOVE 10C AND THERE IS PLENTY OF CAPE TO GO AROUND. DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WHAT AREAS/COUNTIES WILL RECEIVE MORE PRECIPITATION AND WHICH AREAS WILL SEE MINIMAL AMOUNTS. VARYING PLACEMENT OF UPPER LEVEL IMPULSES BY EACH MODEL IS DIFFERENT. SO...WENT FAIRLY HIGH POPS FOR MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AND MENTIONED THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAIN (ONCE AGAIN). ALTHOUGH THE SLOW-MOVING UPPER LOW LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD DURING THE DAYTIME WEDNESDAY...IT IS BEING KICKED OUT BY ANOTHER SURGE OF SHORTWAVE ENERGY IMPULSES MOVING NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE. THUS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY WILL SEE MORE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY AS WELL...WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE AT LOW LEVELS UP THROUGH H850...AND PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES OVER AN INCH. THE ONLY THINK LACKING FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT/THURSDAY IS A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... 00 UTC GFS/ECMWF/GEFS MEAN ARE GENERALLY IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED PROGRESSIVE WAVES MOVING ALONG THE NORTHERN TIER. IT APPEARS THAT THE FIRST OF THESE TWO WILL BE JUST EXITING THE STATE ON FRIDAY...LEAVING ANTICYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT AND SUBSIDENCE TO BEAUTIFY THE WEEKEND AS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DISSIPATE FRIDAY EVENING. SHORTWAVES EJECTING OUT OF THE WESTERN U.S. TROUGH WARRANT A MENTION OF PRECIPITATION BEGINNING SUNDAY EVENING...AND CONTINUING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE AVERAGE FROM SATURDAY ONWARD. && .AVIATION... MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TODAY...WITH THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLY CAUSING BRIEF PERIODS OF MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS DUE TO HEAVY RAIN REDUCING VISIBILITIES. ONCE AGAIN...STORM MOTIONS ARE FORECAST TO BE SLOW AND CEILINGS MAY LOWER TO MVFR CRITERIA. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE && JV/SCHECK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 522 AM CDT TUE JUN 16 2009 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-171030- 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- 522 AM CDT TUE JUN 16 2009 /422 AM MDT TUE JUN 16 2009/ 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 THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TODAY WITH A GOOD CHANCE OF CONTINUING STORMS TONIGHT. SOME LOCALES MAY RECEIVE HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AND AGAIN SUNDAY AND MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. JV
The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:59 UTC.
2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A weak tornado briefly touched down in the open country of rural Sioux County. No structures were impacted and so no damage was reported.
A weak tornado briefly touched down in the open country of rural Dunn County. No structures were impacted and so no damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 2009Warnings in North Dakota, June 2009
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: 172028, 172029, 172030.