A surface cold front pushing east across the local area brought strong wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph to much of southwestern North Dakota during the morning and afternoon hours of Tuesday, May 4th.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
A surface cold front pushing east across the local area brought strong wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph to much of southwestern North Dakota during the morning and afternoon hours of Tuesday, May 4th.
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 May 4, 1:40 AM CST, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 240 AM CDT TUE MAY 4 2010 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT... I HAVE MOVED THE HIGH WIND WARNING UP TO 08Z OR 3 AM CDT ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL. HAVE BEEN WATCHING STRONG WIND GUSTS WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA AND EXPECT THE SAME ACROSS SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. MODEL SOUNDING PROFILES AT DICKINSON SUGGEST 65 TO 70 MPH WINDS AT THE TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER THIS AFTERNOON. SO THERE WILL BE 1 TO 2 HOURS OF STRONG WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH ISALLOBARIC/FRONTAL PUSH...THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY SEVERAL HOURS OF SUB WARNING CRITERIA WINDS...THEN STRONG WINDS EXPECTED TO PICK UP AGAIN IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WEAKENING ISALLOBARIC TENDENCY AND GRADIENT WINDS SUGGEST THE HIGH WIND CRITERIA WILL NOT REACH JAMESTOWN...MINOT...AND WILLISTON. WILL GO WITH A WIND ADVISORY AT JAMES RIVER VALLEY...DROPPING THE WATCH. ALL MODELS SUGGEST H850 TEMPS WILL BE COOL ENOUGH FOR AT LEAST A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW MOST AREAS BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME WILL NOT MENTION SNOW AMOUNTS. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT THE MODELS ARE IN FAIR AGREEMENT...GENERALLY KEEPING TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL WITH THE UPPER LEVEL JET SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA...AND KEEPING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION OFF AND ON THROUGH THE PERIOD. .AVIATION...A COLD FRONT NOW IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA WILL MOVE ACROSS THE STATE THIS MORNING. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL OCCUR WITH THE FRONT...THEN SUBSIDE. THE WINDS WILL INCREASE AGAIN AS A SURFACE LOW MOVES INTO THE PLAINS LATER THIS MORNING...WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 55 MPH LIKELY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 94...GUSTING UP TO 45 MPH ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER. SHOWERS BEHIND THE FRONT WILL LIKELY CAUSE REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND CEILINGS. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 AM CDT /6 AM MDT/ WEDNESDAY FOR NDZ017>020-031>035-040>046. RED FLAG WARNING FROM 1 PM CDT /NOON MDT/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NDZ034-035-041-042-044>046. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR NDZ001>003-009>011- 021. WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 AM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR NDZ004-005-012-013-022-023-025-036-037-047-048-050-051. && WAA/TSW/BN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 658 PM CDT MON MAY 3 2010 NDZ034-035-041-042-044>046-041100- MORTON-BURLEIGH-HETTINGER-GRANT-ADAMS-SIOUX-EMMONS- 658 PM CDT MON MAY 3 2010 /558 PM MDT MON MAY 3 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY AND TUESDAY EVENING. A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SEE WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BISMARCK FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NDZ017>020-031>033-040-043-041100- MCKENZIE-DUNN-MERCER-OLIVER-GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-SLOPE- BOWMAN- 658 PM CDT MON MAY 3 2010 /558 PM MDT MON MAY 3 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY AND TUESDAY EVENING. SEE WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BISMARCK FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NDZ001>005-009>013-021>023-025-041100- DIVIDE-BURKE-RENVILLE-BOTTINEAU-ROLETTE-WILLIAMS-MOUNTRAIL-WARD- MCHENRY-PIERCE-MCLEAN-SHERIDAN-WELLS-FOSTER- 658 PM CDT MON MAY 3 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY AND TUESDAY EVENING. SEE WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BISMARCK FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NDZ036-037-047-048-050-051-041100- KIDDER-STUTSMAN-LOGAN-LA MOURE-MCINTOSH-DICKEY- 658 PM CDT MON MAY 3 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. SEE WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BISMARCK FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. KINNEY
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Measured wind gust from the Hettinger Automated Surface Observing System site.
Measured wind gust from the Sand Creek Remote Automated Weather Station.
Sustained winds around 40 mph with gusts up to 59 mph were measured at the Remote Automated Weather Station at Tatanka Prairie.
Estimated wind gusts near 60 mph occurred across Billings County.
Estimated wind gusts near 60 mph occurred across Hettinger County.
Estimated wind gusts near 60 mph occurred across Grant County.
Estimated wind gusts near 60 mph occurred across McKenzie County.
Estimated wind gusts near 60 mph occurred across Dunn County.
Measured wind gust from the Beach Automated Weather Observing System site.
Measured wind gust at the Interstate 94 weigh station near Beach.
Measured wind gust from the Dickinson Automated Surface Observing System site.
Measured wind gust from the Bowman Road Weather Information System (RWIS) site. Sustained winds measured up to 51 mph at the same time.
Measured wind gust from the Bowman Automated Weather Observing System site.
Measured wind gust from the Hettinger Automated Surface Observing System site.
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, May 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 224670, 224671, 224679, 224678, 224680, 224681, 224682, 224683, 224676, 224673, 224674, 224677, 224672, 224675.