Excessive Heat in North Dakota, July 16 to 19, 2011

Name: Excessive Heat in North Dakota, July 16 to 19, 2011
Start: 2011-07-16T11:00
End: 2011-07-19T21:00
Location: North Dakota

July 16 to 19, 2011 · NWS BIS · 36 events in 36 counties and zones

Upper level high pressure centered over the Central Plains, coupled with persistent low pressure over the Rockies, brought a prolonged period of above seasonal temperatures and high humidity to west and central North Dakota. Daytime temperatures in the 90s combined with the high humidity to produce heat index values well over 100 degrees for many locations for several days.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 32 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: $700,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 36

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 BIS wrote it up.

Although no human life was lost and no injuries were reported, there were livestock losses associated with the heat. It is estimated that up to 700 head of cattle died from the heat wave. Estimated at near 1,000 dollars per head, monetary damages are estimated at near 700,000 dollars. A detailed breakdown by county was not available so the losses were all assigned to one county in southwest North Dakota, Slope.

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 Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 16, 9:52 AM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 16, 9:52 AM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 16, 3:21 AM CST, 7 hours 39 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
421 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-171100-
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-
421 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011 /321 AM MDT SAT JUL 16 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

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON FOR PORTIONS OF WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA. HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 110 ARE EXPECTED EACH DAY
DURING THIS PERIOD. THE LATEST INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE
BISNPWBIS PRODUCT.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE OVER PORTIONS OF WEST AND CENTRAL
NORTH DAKOTA SATURDAY MORNING. A FEW STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH
DAMAGING WINDS..LARGE HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

THERE IS ANOTHER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO
TONIGHT MAINLY CENTRAL AND EAST THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...THEN
INCLUDING THE NORTHWEST OVERNIGHT. SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON FOR PORTIONS OF WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH
DAKOTA. HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 110 ARE EXPECTED EACH DAY
DURING THIS PERIOD. THE LATEST INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE
BISNPWBIS PRODUCT.

CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST EACH PERIOD. STRONG TO
SEVERE STORMS WILL REMAIN A THREAT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER AND
HEAVY RAIN REPORTS.

HEINERT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 16, 7:38 AM CST, 3 hours 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
838 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

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

0830 AM     HAIL             WILTON                  47.16N 100.78W
07/16/2011  M0.88 INCH       MCLEAN             ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

LHUBER

Local storm report, Jul 16, 7:50 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
850 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

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

0840 AM     HAIL             REGAN                   47.16N 100.53W
07/16/2011  M1.00 INCH       BURLEIGH           ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

LHUBER

Special weather statement, Jul 16, 7:51 AM CST, 3 hours 9 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
851 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

NDZ020>022-161430-
MCLEAN ND-OLIVER ND-SHERIDAN ND-
851 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR WESTERN SHERIDAN...EXTREME
NORTHEASTERN OLIVER AND SOUTHEASTERN MCLEAN COUNTIES UNTIL 930 AM
CDT...

AT 845 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 34 MILES NORTH OF MANDAN...OR 37 MILES NORTHWEST
OF BISMARCK...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  WASHBURN...
  TURTLE LAKE...
  MERCER...
  MCCLUSKY...

THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND
TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS... FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM 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.

ABELING

Local storm report, Jul 16, 7:59 AM CST, 3 hours 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
859 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

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

0855 AM     HAIL             WASHBURN                47.29N 101.03W
07/16/2011  M1.00 INCH       MCLEAN             ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

LHUBER

Local storm report, Jul 16, 8:12 AM CST, 2 hours 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
912 AM CDT SAT JUL 16 2011

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

0900 AM     HAIL             WING                    47.14N 100.28W
07/16/2011  M0.88 INCH       BURLEIGH           ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

            DIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL... 4 TO 5 MINUTES IN DURATION...

&&

LHUBER

Local storm report, Jul 16, 10:44 AM CST, 16 minutes before

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

36 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Excessive Heat, Adams

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.097, -102.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Billings

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Billings forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.023, -103.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Bottineau

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Bottineau forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.792, -100.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Bowman

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Bowman forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.113, -103.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Burke

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Burke forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.791, -102.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Burleigh

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Burleigh forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.977, -100.469 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Dickey

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Dickey forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.110, -98.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Divide

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Divide forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.815, -103.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Dunn

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.357, -102.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Emmons

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Emmons forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.285, -100.239 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Foster

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Foster forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.457, -98.883 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Golden Valley

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Golden Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.940, -103.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Grant

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.358, -101.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Hettinger

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Hettinger forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.433, -102.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Kidder

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Kidder forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.980, -99.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, La Moure

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: La Moure forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.457, -98.535 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Logan

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.457, -99.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, McHenry

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: McHenry forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.235, -100.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, McIntosh

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: McIntosh forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.112, -99.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, McKenzie

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: McKenzie forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.740, -103.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, McLean

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Excessive Heat, Mercer

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.309, -101.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Morton

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Morton forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Excessive Heat, Mountrail

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Mountrail forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.201, -102.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Oliver

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Oliver forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.115, -101.340 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Pierce

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.250, -99.972 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Renville

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Renville forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.719, -101.658 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Rolette

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Rolette forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.772, -99.841 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Sheridan

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.575, -100.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Sioux

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Excessive Heat, Slope

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Slope forecast zone
Property damage: $700,000
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.447, -103.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Stark

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Stutsman

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Stutsman forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.979, -98.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Ward

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Ward forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Excessive Heat, Wells

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Wells forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.588, -99.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Excessive Heat, Williams

When: July 16, 11:00 AM CST to July 19, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Williams forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.344, -103.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Excessive Heat: Heat at or above the local excessive heat warning criteria, or heat that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, July 2011

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 331214, 331215, 331216, 331217, 331218, 331219, 331220, 331221, 331222, 331223, 331224, 331225, 331226, 331227, 331228, 331229, 331230, 331231, 331232, 331234, 331235, 331236, 331237, 331238, 331239, 331240, 331241, 331242, 331243, 331244, 331245, 331246, 331247, 331248, 331249, 331250.