Thunderstorms with very heavy rain resulted in flash flood conditions over portions of Foster County in east central North Dakota. The flooding damaged rail tracks over the James River, causing a train derailment.
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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.
Thunderstorms with very heavy rain resulted in flash flood conditions over portions of Foster County in east central North Dakota. The flooding damaged rail tracks over the James River, causing a train derailment. No injuries were reported with this accident.
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 Aug 6, 6:12 AM CST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 712 AM CDT SAT AUG 6 2011 .UPDATE...MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO TEMPERATURE AND WIND TRENDS. ALSO 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .DISCUSSION...ISSUED A FLOOD ADVISORY AROUND 540 AM CDT FOR MUCH OF STUTSMAN...ALL OF FOSTER...AND SOUTHEASTERN WELLS COUNTIES. DOPPLER ESTIMATES OF 1.5 INCHES PER HOUR WERE NOTED. LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER THE ESTIMATES WERE UP TO 2 INCHES IN AN HOUR...AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP...SO ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WARNING WITHIN THE AREA OF THE FLOOD ADVISORY (NORTHERN STUTSMAN AND ALL OF FOSTER). && .AVIATION...AT 7 AM CDT/12Z A SURFACE LOW PRESSURE AREA WAS LOCATED NEAR BISMARCK. THE CIRCULATION AROUND THIS LOW WILL BRING HEAVY RAINFALL AND THUNDERSTORMS TO EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA INCLUDING KJMS/KMOT. ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL KEEP IFR CEILINGS AT KDIK THROUGH 15Z...THEN MVFR CONDITIONS. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WITH OCNL MVFR CONDITIONS AT KJMS/KMOT. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 PM CDT /6 PM MDT/ THIS EVENING FOR NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051. && DISCUSSION...JV AVIATION...WAA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 440 AM CDT SAT AUG 6 2011 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-070945- 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- 440 AM CDT SAT AUG 6 2011 /340 AM MDT SAT AUG 6 2011/ 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 FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY NORTH AND EAST OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE IN THE FORECAST SUNDAY AND MONDAY...THEN AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. JV
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 630 AM CDT SAT AUG 6 2011 NDZ025-037-061230- FOSTER-STUTSMAN- 630 AM CDT SAT AUG 6 2011 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT... AT 625 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 40 MILES NORTH OF JAMESTOWN TO 11 MILES SOUTH OF JAMESTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. PENNY SIZE HAIL...WINDS GREATER THAN 40 MPH...OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...FREQUENT DOWNPOURS...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... JAMESTOWN... GRACE CITY... KENSAL... SPIRITWOOD LAKE... GUSTY WINDS MAY CAUSE SMALL OBJECTS SUCH AS TRASH BINS TO BLOW AROUND. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH OBJECTS OUTDOORS SUCH AS TREES. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THESE STORMS HAVE PASSED. ABELING
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
718 AM CDT SAT AUG 06 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0716 AM HEAVY RAIN CARRINGTON 47.45N 99.13W
08/06/2011 M1.77 INCH FOSTER ND AWOS
THREE HOUR RAINFALL. 1.31 FELL IN ONE HOUR.
&&
ABELINGThe Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:28 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Very heavy rain washed out a culvert under the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks near Kensal at a bridge crossing the James River. The washout caused two locomotives and approximately 25 cars to derail.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, August 2011
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: 332300.