One lone thunderstorm cell flared up early in the morning of the 3rd and dropped large hail over portions of Cavalier County. Mid level temperatures were quite warm, but enough convergence occurred along a cold front over the Devils Lake region to produce the stronger storm.
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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 FGF wrote it up.
One lone thunderstorm cell flared up early in the morning of the 3rd and dropped large hail over portions of Cavalier County. Mid level temperatures were quite warm, but enough convergence occurred along a cold front over the Devils Lake region to produce the stronger storm.
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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 3, 1:30 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 230 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 2010 .DISCUSSION...FORECAST CHALLENGE CONCERNS TEMPERATURES AND CONVECTIVE/HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL WITH APPROACHING COLD FRONT. MODELS SEEM TO BE COMING INTO A LITTLE BETTER AGREEMENT WITH TIMING OF FROPA TODAY. NAM AND 12Z ECMWF DOING BETTER WITH 06Z FRONTAL POSITION...LITTLE FARTHER WEST THAN GFS. WILL USE BLEND FOR FORECAST. REGION TO REMAIN IN SW FLOW ALOFT WITH SEVERAL IMPULSES RIDGING UP FLOW. MOST SIGNIFICANT OF THESE FEATURES CURRENTLY LIFTING THROUGH NW ND. IN THE NEAR TERM WILL BE MONITORING CONVECTION ACROSS N CENTRAL ND/SOUTHERN CANADA ASSOCIATED WITH ABOVE WAVE AND SEVERAL SURFACE CIRCULATIONS AND RELATED BOUNDARIES. ALSO SOME WEAKER CONVECTION ACROSS FAR NORTHERN MN. FUTURE TRENDS WILL DETERMINE MORNING MENTION AND WILL MAKE DECISION JUST BEFORE FORECAST ISSUANCE. FOR REMAINDER OF DAY INTO TONIGHT APPROACHING COLD FRONT ACROSS FAR WESTERN DAKOTAS WILL BE PRIME CONCERN. TREND CONTINUES TO BE A TAD SLOWER WITH FROPA TODAY WITH BOUNDARY ORIENTED ROUGHLY FROM HCO-JMS AT PRIME HEATING. SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY CROSSING NORTHERN ROCKIES TO INTERACT WITH BOUNDARY WITH TIMING OF CONVECTIVE INITIATION THE QUESTION. FAIRLY RESPECTABLE CAP IN PLACE TO OVERCOME HOWEVER MID LEVELS DO BEGIN COOLING TOWARDS 00Z SO LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING INITIATION SEEMS REASONABLE WITH ANY ACTION UNTIL THEN FAIRLY MINIMAL. ALL CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS THERE FOR SEVERE POTENTIAL ONCE STORMS GO. ONLY LACKING FEATURE IS THAT BULK SHEAR FAIRLY WEAK ALONG AND AHEAD OF BOUNDARY. HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL WILL ALSO BECOME A THREAT LATER IN THE EVENT WITH PRECIPITABLE H2O VALUES TO 2 INCHES AND STRONGER SHEAR SHIFTS EAST. FAVORED LOCATION FOR HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL LOOKS TO BE ACROSS SE ND INTO WEST CENTRAL MN FROM NATIONAL HEAVY RAIN DISCUSSION HOWEVER 850MB CONVERGENCE LATER TONIGHT FOCUSED FARTHER NORTH. THIS WHOLE AREA SHOWING FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE VALUES AROUND 4 INCHES SO SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE FAIR AMOUNT OF RAINFALL. WITH HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL MORE THAN LIKELY TONIGHT FEEL DAY SHIFT WILL HAVE ONE LAST MODEL RUN TO LOOK AT AND IF WATCH NECESSARY SUFFICIENT TIME TO PIN DOWN AREA FOR ALERT. WITH FRONT NOT APPROACHING TIL LATER IN DAY ANOTHER HOT/HUMID DAY EXPECTED. COOLEST TEMPERATURES WILL BE ACROSS FAR NW FA WHICH WILL BE CLOSE TO FRONT LATER THIS AFTERNOON. STILL LIKELY TO BE BREEZY HOWEVER SHOULD SEE A BREAK FROM STRONGER WINDS LAST FEW DAYS. FRONT SHOULD BE ACROSS FAR EASTERN FA BY 12Z SUNDAY WITH ANY ALONG OR POST FRONTAL PCPN EAST OF FA BY 18Z. GOOD DRYING THROUGH COLUMN IN WAKE OF FRONTAL PASSAGE SO CLEARING EXPECTED FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE DAY. COLD ADVECTION NOT PARTICULARLY STRONG HOWEVER TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSER TO AVERAGE. WX SHOULD QUIET DOWN FROM SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY BEFORE NEXT WAVE BEGINS TO AFFECT FA LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. MODELS ALL SHOWING DIFFERENT PCPN SOLUTIONS SO WILL NOT MAKE ANY BIG CHANGES TO MID/LONG RANGE GRIDS ALTHOUGH DID INTRODUCE POPS TUESDAY WITH WAVE. WITH PASSAGE OF WAVE LONGER RANGE TEMPERATURES LOOK CLOSE TO AVERAGE. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS TODAY WITH WIND SPEEDS NOT AS STRONG AS PAST FEW DAYS. DEEP CONVECTIVE INITIATION LOOKS TO BE LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING AHEAD OF APPROACHING COLD FRONT. BEST LOCATION LOOKS TO BE FROM VALLEY EAST BASED ON TIMING OF COLD FRONT AND T STORM DEVELOPMENT. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...NONE. MN...NONE. && VOELKER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 642 AM CDT FRI JUL 2 2010 MNZ001>003-005-006-008-009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ027>030- 038-039-049-052-053-031145- WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS-EAST MARSHALL- NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER- SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN-SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER- EAST BECKER-WILKIN-WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT- GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT- RICHLAND- 642 AM CDT FRI JUL 2 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE REGION MAINLY TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AS A COLD FRONT CROSSES THE REGION. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE FROM LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING. THE PRIMARY HAZARD WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. MNZ004-007-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026-054-031145- KITTSON-WEST MARSHALL-TOWNER-CAVALIER-PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY- EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY- 642 AM CDT FRI JUL 2 2010 ...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE REGION THIS MORNING. AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION TONIGHT MORE THUNDERSTORMS MAY MOVE INTO AN AREA ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM DEVILS LAKE TO CAVALIER. A FEW OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY HAZARD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY MORE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS THE COLD FRONT CROSSES THE REGION. AGAIN THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ANY STORMS WHICH DO DEVELOP SHOULD MOVE EAST OF THE AREA BY EARLY EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 424 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 2010 NDZ006-007-031030- CAVALIER ND-TOWNER ND- 424 AM CDT SAT JUL 3 2010 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN TOWNER AND NORTHWESTERN CAVALIER COUNTIES UNTIL 530 AM CDT... AT 419 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A THUNDERSTORM 21 MILES NORTHEAST OF CANDO...OR 28 MILES WEST OF LANGDON. THE STORM WAS NEARLY STATIONARY. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THE STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. THE STORM WILL BE NEAR... SARLES...ROCKLAKE AND HANNAH AROUND 530 AM CDT. BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IF THE STORMS INTENSIFY AND BECOME SEVERE...OR A WARNING IS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. TORRENTIAL RAIN...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES...IS ALSO LIKELY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ON A FLOODED ROADWAY. G2
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A retired county sheriff reported various sizes of hail, ranging from pea to quarter to a few golfball sized stones.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, July 2010
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 229337.