Tornadoes in North Dakota, June 21, 2010

Name: Tornadoes in North Dakota, June 21, 2010
Start: 2010-06-21T13:37
End: 2010-06-21T15:15
Location: North Dakota

June 21, 2010 · NWS FGF · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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 FGF wrote it up.

Afternoon (June 21st) water vapor imagery showed a nice circulation rotating through the northern Red River Valley into northwest Minnesota. At the surface, there was also a weak low pressure system over the central Red River Valley by mid afternoon with an inverted trough extending its north. After some morning clouds, enough clearing occurred by afternoon to allow temperatures to rise into the mid to upper 70s with dew points in the mid 60s. As thunderstorm cells formed, many took on a classic hook shape, denoting possible circulations. Most of the stronger rotating cells occurred right along the weak surface boundary, but others did along more subtle boundaries.

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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 21, 9:18 AM CST, 4 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 21, 9:18 AM CST, 4 hours 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
1018 AM CDT MON JUN 21 2010

.DISCUSSION...

BUSY MORNING SO FAR. HEAVY RAIN HAS FALLEN ACROSS MUCH OF THE
DEVILS LAKE BASIN AND NORTHERN VALLEY THIS MORNING WITH SURFACE
REPORTS IN EXCESS OF 1.5 INCHES NEAR DEVILS LAKE AND STARKWEATHER.
KMVX STORM TOTAL PRECIPITATION SUGGESTS SOME AREAS MAY HAVE
RECEIVED UPWARDS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES THUS FAR. HAVE ISSUED FLASH
FLOOD WARNINGS FOR THESE AREAS. RESPONSIBLE SURFACE LOW IS CENTERED
SOUTHWEST OF DEVILS LAKE LAKE WITH RUC 925 TO 700 HPA CIRCULATION/
CONVERGENCE MOVING SLOWLY NORTH AND EAST ALONG THE CANADIAN
BORDER THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. GIVEN THIS AND PRECIPITABLE WATER
VALUES UP TO 1.5 INCHES...EXPECT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
CONTINUE ACROSS THE NORTHERN FORECAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. WILL
NEED TO WATCH FOR ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOOD ISSUES AS ANOTHER INCH
OR MORE OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

WILL ALSO NEED TO WATCH FOR DESTABILIZATION OF LOW-LEVELS ACROSS
SOUTHERN TWO-THIRDS OF FORECAST AREA FOR RE-DEVELOPMENT OF STORMS
AS CLOUDS DIMINISH AND HEATING INCREASES. SPC DAY 1 CONVECTIVE
OUTLOOK INCLUDES AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF THE VALLEY IN A SLIGHT
RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER TODAY...BUT THINK ANYTHING FOR OUR AREA
WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE WESTERN DAKOTAS THROUGH 00 UTC TONIGHT
WHERE GREATEST SHEAR BETTER COINCIDES WITH INSTABILITY PARAMETERS.
AS SUCH...REMOVED SEVERE WORDING FROM WEATHER GRIDS TODAY.

OTHERWISE...UPDATED POP/WEATHER/SKY/QPF/TEMPERATURE GRIDS TO MATCH
CURRENT RADAR/SATELLITE AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. IN SHORT...
INCREASED POPS/SKY ACROSS THE NORTH-NORTHWEST...DECREASED POPS/SKY
ACROSS THE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST AND ADJUSTED TEMPERATURES ACCORDING TO
LATEST CLOUD COVER TRENDS.

&&

.AVIATION...

MOST OF THE PCPN ACTIVITY IS CURRENTLY ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY
2 WHICH WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT ALL TAF SITES EXCEPT KFAR. OUTSIDE
OF THE SHOWER/TSTM ACTIVITY CEILINGS ARE ALL ABOVE 10000FT. WHEN
TSTMS COME OVER THE SITES CEILINGS/VSBYS OCCASIONALLY COME DOWN TO
MVFR. DO NOT HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON TIMING AT THIS POINT...BUT
OVERALL IT APPEARS THE ACTIVITY IS SLOWLY LIFTING NORTHWARD. THIS
WOULD MEAN THE CURRENT ACTIVITY SHOULD BE OUT OF MOST IF NOT ALL
THE TAF SITES IN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR
AND UPDATE IF TIMING BECOMES MORE CLEAR.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 430 AM CDT MON JUN 21 2010/

SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WAS OVER THE WESTERN US WHILE AN UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE WAS OVER THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PLAINS. SEVERAL SHORTWAVES
WERE IN THE FLOW. WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWING SHORT WAVE TROUGH FROM
NORTHWEST SD INTO MT WAS ROTATING NORTH/NORTHEAST. GFS CROSS SECTION
INDICATING DRY AIR ALOFT CENTERED AROUND 600 HPA MOVING IN FROM THE
WEST TODAY. ABOUT A 21 KELVIN THETA-E DEFICIT BETWEEN 850 HP AND
600 HPA. MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS. DRYING EXTENDS INTO LOW
LAYERS TONIGHT AND ONLY FOR MOISTURE TO RETURN TUE.

MESO ANALYSIS SHOWS NEGATIVE LI/S FROM SOUTHERN MN INTO EASTERN
ND AND SURFACE LOW OVER CENTRAL ND. SURFACE MOISTURE FLUX
CONVERGENCE WAS NEAR SURFACE LOW IN CENTRAL ND. AREA RADARS
SHOWING THUNDERSTORMS FROM EASTERN ND INTO NORTHWEST ND AND EXPECT
THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE MOVING EAST TODAY.

PRECIPITABLE WATER OVER AN INCH AND WILL RISE TO AROUND AN INCH AND
THREE QUARTER FOR TODAY. WARM CLOUD DEPTH EXCEEDS ABOUT 12 THOUSAND
FT FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT AND DIMINISHES ON TUE. WARM RAIN PROCESS
POSSIBLE FOR TODAY THROUGH TUE. WILL ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR
TODAY THROUGH TUE.

LONG TERM...THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES OVER THE AREA THIS PERIOD. SOME WARM
ADVECTION PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED THU. WILL ADD LOW POPS THU.

&&

.FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ND...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING FOR NDZ006>008-014>016-
     024-026>030-038-039-049-052>054.

MN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING FOR MNZ001>009-013>017-
     022>024-027>032-040.

&&

ROGERS/GODON/HOPPES

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 21, 6:00 AM CST, 7 hours 37 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
700 AM CDT MON JUN 21 2010

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-221200-
WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS-
WEST MARSHALL-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-TOWNER-CAVALIER-
PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON-
GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-
RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY-
700 AM CDT MON JUN 21 2010

...MORE SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE AREA...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST FOR MUCH OF
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA OR WEST
OF A LINE FROM WARROAD TO EVERGREEN TO WRIGHTSTOWN MINNESOTA.
LARGE HAIL..DAMAGING WINDS AND AN ISOLATED TORNADO WILL BE
POSSIBLE. ALSO LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED. A FLASH FLOOD
WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY. SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS MAY OCCUR AT ANY TIME HOWEVER THE BEST TIME WILL BE
BETWEEN 2 PM CDT AND 9 PM CDT.

MOIST UNSTABLE AIR WILL MOVE NORTH TODAY WHILE AN UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
ACROSS NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA WILL MOVE NORTH AND EAST TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST ACROSS MUCH OF
EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA OR
EAST OF A LINE FROM SARLES TO URBANA TO ELLENDALE NORTH DAKOTA.
THE STORMS WILL BE MOST LIKELY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING AND WILL MOST LIKELY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

HOPPES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 21, 8:02 AM CST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
902 AM CDT MON JUN 21 2010

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

0830 AM     FLASH FLOOD      2 E CRARY               48.07N 98.60W
06/21/2010                   RAMSEY             ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SPOTTER REPORTED BASEMENT FLOODING AND PONDED WATER ALL
            OVER THE FARM YARD.

&&

VGODON

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 102 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:35 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Walsh

When: June 21, 1:37 PM CST to 1:43 PM CST
Where: Walsh County, 3.28 mi ENE of Oakwood to 5.67 mi ENE of Oakwood
Rating: EF0
Path length: 2.39 mi
Path width: 75 yd
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.440, -97.210

This tornado tracked eastward just south of the Park River and crossed Interstate 29 near milepost 178. No significant damage was observed in fields. Spotters reported that this tornado lifted before crossing the Red River and that a second tornado formed several minutes later further east into Minnesota. Peak winds estimated at 75 mph.

Tornado, Grand Forks

When: June 21, 2:55 PM CST to 3:15 PM CST
Where: Grand Forks County, 4.74 mi SW of Kempton to 1 mi NE of Northwood
Rating: EF0
Path length: 7 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Reported by: Airplane Pilot
Coordinates: 47.770, -97.690

This tornado tracked eastward for about a seven mile intermittent path. The tornado was viewed by aircraft and ground based observers from multiple directions. A few large tree limbs were downed in shelterbelts though the tornado was mostly over open fields. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Dakota, 2010 Warnings in North Dakota, June 2010

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: 246899, 227350.