During the day of June 9th, temperatures over eastern North Dakota and the northwest quarter of Minnesota topped out in the upper 70s along the Canadian border to lower 90s along the North Dakota/South Dakota border. Mid level temperatures were very warm over the central Dakotas, helping to suppress convective development until early evening.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 FGF wrote it up.
During the day of June 9th, temperatures over eastern North Dakota and the northwest quarter of Minnesota topped out in the upper 70s along the Canadian border to lower 90s along the North Dakota/South Dakota border. Mid level temperatures were very warm over the central Dakotas, helping to suppress convective development until early evening. By that point, thunderstorms broke out over southern Manitoba down through central North Dakota, mainly along a cold front. These storms tracked east-southeast, mainly covering the Devils Lake region, down through the central Red River Valley, and into the Mahnomen to Hubbard county corridor. A mix of tornadoes, hail, and strong winds were reported.
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 9, 2:21 PM CST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 321 PM CDT Fri Jun 9 2017 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday) Issued at 321 PM CDT Fri Jun 9 2017 Severe thunderstorm chances tonight will be the main challenge for the period. Water vapor loop shows upper ridging into the Northern Plains, starting to transition over to southwesterly flow aloft as a large trough digs into the Pacific Northwest. Main shortwave with the upper trough is lifting north into Canada, but sat loops show signs of another weaker shortwave lifting northeastward from WY. Surface low pressure is centered over western ND, with some cumulus starting to get going on the east side of it along the Missouri Valley. So far the SPC mesoanalysis page shows surface and mixed layer instability to still be well capped, with some elevated showers and storms moving across our northern counties and southern Canada. Think the cap will start to dissipate in the next few hours, and CAMs show some stronger storms developing across north central ND near the Canadian border around the 23 to 00Z time frame. Still some variation as to how far south these storms build, but with the strong cap think that most of the early activity will be along and north of highway 2. Deep layer bulk shear is around 40-50 kts, and with winds backing in the lower levels some supercells will be possible with the first round of convection. The SPC storm scale ensemble of opportunity has some 20-30 percent probabilities of over 100 m2/s2 updraft helicity, so think rotating storms are probable. Dew point depressions are rather high and LCL heights will not be super favorable for tornadoes, but they cannot be completely ruled out and very large hail will be possible. After that first round moves east during the late evening, many of the high resolution models bring a second round in from the west after midnight with the cold front. Some of the models have pretty strong cells arriving during the 08Z to 13Z time frame early tomorrow morning, and there will still be around 2500 J/kg of MU CAPE along with 40 to 50 kts of deep layer bulk shear. So a second round of severe is possible late tonight into early morning. There is still a lot of uncertainty as to where exactly the second round will track, but highest shear and instability values are mostly north of the I-94 corridor. Tomorrow, after the second round of convection blows through there will be a few lingering showers or storms mainly across the north, but otherwise a bit more cool and quiet on the backside of the surface trough axis. Temps will be knocked back a few degrees but will still be fairly warm in the 80s to low 90s except in the far north where more clouds and precip will be hanging around. .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Friday) Issued at 321 PM CDT Fri Jun 9 2017 Sunday and Monday...Southwesterly flow aloft will keep things fairly active across the region, but models are in pretty good agreement on the next shortwave remaining mostly to our south over SD into central MN. The southern counties could see some storms from this shortwave late Saturday night into Sunday, but the best instability will be well to our south. Will continue to keep high chance POPs going but will leave out any mention of severe. Sunday night should remain fairly quiet but another shortwave approaching from the southwest late Monday could bring some precip over our far south by late afternoon. Temperatures for the end of the weekend and early next week will be near to slightly above seasonal averages. Tuesday through Friday...The active pattern will continue for at least the first half of the upcoming week. Tue will feature an upper low lurking over the Northern Rockies with the northern plains in southwest flow sandwiched between this low and an upper midwest ridge. At the surface, strong low pressure complex will likely move right through the forecast area during the day Tue with a warm and cold frontal boundary providing opportunities for convective activity. Wed would feature more of a cold pool setup as stacked system heads toward western Ontario. Thu and Fri have the best chance for dry weather for most if not all of this time frame. The above average temperatures will continue on Tue and Wed before dropping back into the more average 70s on Thu/Fri. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) Issued at 1239 PM CDT Fri Jun 9 2017 All sites should remain VFR throughout the period with a couple of rounds of convection coming through. The first round will impact the northern forecast area this evening, so have VCTS at KDVL, KGFK, and KTVF. A second round coming in after midnight tonight is less certain on placement, so will keep mention of the later convection out of the TAFs for now. Have some LLWS at KFAR and KBJI later tonight as southerly low level jet kicks in, but will keep out of the more northern and western TAF sites as they will be more impacted by convection. Winds will decrease a bit this evening (other than near convection), but then shift to the west and northwest by the end of the period. && .FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ND...None. MN...None. && SHORT TERM...JR LONG TERM...JR/WJB AVIATION...JR
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 1225 PM CDT Fri Jun 9 2017 MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-101300- 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- 1225 PM CDT Fri Jun 9 2017 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of eastern North Dakota, west central and northwest Minnesota. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Two rounds of severe storms are possible. The first round will be this evening with scattered severe storms along and north of highway 2. Significant hail greater than 2 inches is the main threat, along with damaging wind up to 75 mph, an isolated tornado, and excessive rainfall. Round 2 is less certain, but confidence is increasing for activity to move into eastern North Dakota sometime after 4am. The risk area for this round is anywhere along and north of Interstate 94. The main threat will be damaging winds, potentially greater than 75 mph. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Periods of thunderstorms are possible throughout this period. The best chance for widespread convective activity and severe storms is Monday night into Tuesday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is expected this evening, and potentially again during the early Saturday morning hours.
The Minot AFB radar (KMBX), 158 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:46 UTC.
22 thunderstorm wind, 22 hail, 9 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A funnel cloud was observed just east of the Sarles Port of Entry, along the Canadian border.
The wind gust was measured by a sensor along the Canadian border. Nearby corn and small grain fields were stripped of their leaves by wind driven hail. Evergreen and poplar trees were uprooted and steel grain bins were damaged in various farmsteads across Byron Township.
A tornado engulfed in downburst winds and hail tracked near Wales, snapping numerous tree limbs in shelterbelts along its path. Nearby fields were stripped of crops by wind driven hail. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.
Numerous 4 to 8 inch diameter tree branches were blown down at a farmstead.
A weak tornado blew the doors off a seed company elevator and spread door and roof panels around the grounds in a circular pattern. Further downstream, the tornado snapped 6 power poles along 96th avenue northeast, a quarter mile east of highway 1. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.
The wind gust was measured by a NDAWN mesonet sensor east of town.
This tornado was partially engulfed in downburst winds and hail along its nearly 20 mile path. Large wooden power poles were snapped, roofing was stripped off of homes, steel pole sheds were totally dismantled, numerous steel grain bins were crushed, and large metal segments were carried for a mile or more downwind. Bean and grain fields were completely stripped. Peak winds were estimated at 120 mph.
Large portions of Alma and East Alma townships were stripped of small grain and bean crops by extreme downburst winds and wind driven hail.
This tornado and corresponding rear flank downdraft wind produced widespread dust, which greatly reduced the visibility. Numerous ash, poplar, cottonwood, and evergreen trees were snapped or uprooted in shelterbelts and groves along its path. Peak winds of 119 mph were measured by a mobile system.
Granite slabs at the veteran's memorial were blown over and shattered by the strong winds.
Numerous large tree branches and limbs were broken down or snapped across much of Thingvalla Township. Sheet metal roofing and shingles were blown off buildings in various locations.
This tornado snapped trees in shelterbelts and demolished a pole shed at a farmstead. In addition, shingles and roofing materials were peeled from various buildings and a television antenna was bent over. Debris was spread downstream and over a wide arc to the north and northwest by the east-southeast moving storm. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph.
The gust was measured by mobile mesonet equipment.
A large pine tree was blown down.
The wind gust was measured by a personal weather station.
This tornado tracked largely over open country for about 2 miles, causing no significant damage. The ground swirl of the tornado was videoed by storm chasers near the west bay of Devils Lake, though very dusty conditions made visual detection difficult. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.
Pea to nickel sized hail covered the ground. A wall cloud was also visible to the south from this location around 730 pm CDT.
The wind gust was measured at an NDAWN station.
The strong winds were accompanied by very heavy rain and dime to nickel sized hail.
Extensive tree damage extended from eastern Farmington into Martin township. Numerous large poplar, ash, and cottonwoods were snapped in field and farm shelterbelts.
The wind gust was measured by a Davis personal weather station.
Numerous large poplar, ash, and cottonwood trees were snapped or blown down in shelterbelts and farmsteads across St. Andrews and northern Acton townships. Peak winds were estimated from 85 to 95 mph over a several mile wide path.
A brief touchdown was noted by an observer near Vining Oil, looking to the north.
The wind gust was measured by a ND DOT RWIS station.
This weak tornado crossed the southern end of Lake Washington, where a condensation plume was observed. Large branches were broken off of trees on either side of the lake, otherwise no significant damage was noted. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.
The wind gust was measured by the Crary NDAWN station.
Quarter to golf ball sized hail fell.
Dime to quarter sized hail covered the ground.
A large tree was uprooted and numerous tree branches were blown down.
A brief touchdown was reported southwest of Walum, by spotters northeast of Wimbledon and north of Dazey. A persistent wall cloud structure with funnel-like appendage was viewed for several minutes as it passed along the Barnes and Griggs county line. Though a brief dust swirl was detected, no significant damage was apparent. Peak winds were estimated at 70 mph.
Blowing dust was also reported in the thunderstorm outflow.
A few 8 to 10 inch diameter ash trees were snapped at varying levels, from ground level to about 8 feet up.
A steel grain bin was blown off its foundation and tumbled for a quarter of a mile.
A chicken coop was destroyed and two large evergreens were blown down.
Multiple vehicles were blown off Interstate 94, which briefly closed.
Quarter to half dollar sized hail fell along with very heavy rain.
Dime to quarter sized hail fell.
Brief pea to dime sized hail fell.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 2017Warnings in North Dakota, June 2017
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: 696664, 696667, 696668, 696672, 696673, 696674, 696678, 696680, 696848, 696849, 696850, 696851, 696852, 697526, 696853, 697525, 696854, 696855, 696856, 696857, 696858, 696859, 696860, 696861, 696862, 696863, 696864, 696865, 696866, 696867, 696868, 696869, 696870, 696871, 696872, 696873, 696874, 696875, 696876, 696881, and more.