Just after sunrise, a line of thunderstorms was located around the Jamestown, North Dakota, area. This line quickly took on a bowing structure and tracked from Jamestown down into far southeast North Dakota.
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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.
Just after sunrise, a line of thunderstorms was located around the Jamestown, North Dakota, area. This line quickly took on a bowing structure and tracked from Jamestown down into far southeast North Dakota. These storms produced some large hail, but mainly strong wind gusts.
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 Aug 18, 6:15 AM CST, 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 715 AM CDT THU AUG 18 2016 .UPDATE... Issued at 712 AM CDT Thu Aug 18 2016 Updated weather and pops based on latest trends and model data. Am concerned that this morning's activity will limit temps and thunderstorm activity this afternoon. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 349 AM CDT Thu Aug 18 2016 Short term period primary threats include flash flood potential this morning and severe threat later today. The latest analysis indicates an area of 2000 J/kg of MUCAPE exists over south-central ND currently. Further north and northeast into NE ND...MUCAPEs of around 500 exist. A 25-35 kt low level jet is helping keep thunderstorm activity going this morning. This jet, along with the theta-e associated with the high MUCAPEs, will shift east this morning as a low in the western Dakotas shifts east as well. Frontal boundary across the north is being reinforced by the cold pool associated with current thunderstorm activity in that area and can be seen moving south as a fine line on radar. Recent WPC meso precip discussion points out flooding potential exists as this system shifts east into the Red River Valley this morning...all the way down to the southern valley. Will mention flooding/heavy rain threat in HWO and also in grids. Thunderstorm activity this afternoon will be dependent upon this morning's activity. Current thinking is that the southern part of the valley could see severe activity this afternoon/early evening. The last two runs of the HRRR point toward this morning's activity moving through Bemidji by noon...with redevelopment /possible/ behind this line near Fargo/Wahpeton into the late afternoon hours. .LONG TERM...(Friday through Wednesday) Issued at 349 AM CDT Thu Aug 18 2016 Friday looks quiet with cool high pressure building into the region under cloudy skies. Clouds decrease for Saturday...but cool air will linger with highs only in the mid 60s to lower 70s. Long wave upper level trough over Hudson Bay shifts east while long wave ridge over the Gulf of AK shifts into western Canada by the end of the period. The long wave pattern de-amplifies through the period. The GFS and the ECMWF were in good agreement through the period with the GFS a little faster on MON then syncs back up by the end of the period. The ECMWF was trending faster while the GFS was vacillating around in the Mon time frame. Will blend the models. High temperatures were increased a degree or so on Sun. Temps were increased two to three degrees for Mon and one or two degrees for Tue. High temps decreased one to two degrees for Wed from yesterdays forecast package. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Friday morning) Issued at 712 AM CDT Thu Aug 18 2016 Thunder chances have appeared to diminish in the north this morning. Will need to monitor trends to see if thunder will return this afternoon. Thunder on track for FAR around 14Z. && .FGF Watches/Warnings/Advisories... ND...None. MN...None. && UPDATE...Knutsvig SHORT TERM...Knutsvig LONG TERM...Knutsvig/Hoppes AVIATION...Knutsvig
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 404 AM CDT THU AUG 18 2016 MNZ004>009-013>017-022>024-027-028-032-NDZ007-008-016-190915- 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-WADENA-CAVALIER-PEMBINA-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY- 404 AM CDT THU AUG 18 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA TODAY. SOME STORMS MAY BE STRONG WITH SMALL HAIL, BRIEF HEAVY RAIN, AND GUSTY WINDS. HOWEVER...THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER TODAY IS LOW IN FAR NORTHWESTERN MN AND THE PEMBINA/LANGDON AREAS IN ND. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA ON TUESDAY AND ON WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. MNZ001-002-NDZ006-014-015-024-026>030-054-190915- WEST POLK-NORMAN-TOWNER-BENSON-RAMSEY-EDDY-NELSON-GRAND FORKS- GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY- 404 AM CDT THU AUG 18 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS NORTHEASTERN ND AND INTO WESTERN POLK AND NORMAN COUNTIES TODAY. SOME THUNDERSTORMS COULD BE STRONG AND PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WITH ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE. WHILE THE THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS EXIST INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS...THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAIN WILL BE MAINLY IN THE MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA ON TUESDAY AND ON WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. MNZ003-029>031-040-NDZ038-039-049-052-053-190915- CLAY-WILKIN-WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-GRANT-BARNES-CASS- RANSOM-SARGENT-RICHLAND- 404 AM CDT THU AUG 18 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS FAR SOUTHEASTERN ND AND INTO WEST CENTRAL MN TODAY. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE ALSO...WITH ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE. THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA ON TUESDAY AND ON WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. KNUTSVIG
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:16 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A five to ten inch diameter tree was snapped by the strong winds. Nearby, one shed was tipped over and a second was flattened.
A semi tractor and trailer combination was blown off of Interstate 94 near mile point 178. Large tree branches were broken down in shelterbelts across southern Potter Township.
A wide swath of damaging winds and hail raked across northern Hemen Township. Wind driven hail stripped maturing bean and corn fields down to stumps. Trees were broken down, steel grain bins were dented in, and roofing materials were torn off of farm outbuildings.
The wind gust was measured at the Valley City airport.
A semi tractor and trailer combination was blown off of Interstate 94 just east of Valley City.
A semi carrying anhydrous ammonia rolled on its side in the eastbound lane of Interstate 94.
The wind gust was measured by a personal weather station near the South Dakota border.
Several four to six inch diameter tree branches were blown down around farmsteads and in shelterbelts across Tewaukon Township. There was also a brief period of dime to nickel sized hail.
Several large tree branches and limbs were blown down in shelterbelts along Interstate 29 between mile point eight and mile point two, in southern Waldo and northern Greendale townships.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, August 2016
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: 643899, 643908, 643914, 643916, 643900, 643901, 643902, 643903, 643904, 643907, 648167.