Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 31, 2023

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 31, 2023
Start: 2023-07-31T16:36
End: 2023-07-31T19:35
Location: North Dakota

July 31, 2023 · NWS BIS · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: $350,000
Crop damage: $325,000
Events: 4

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.

Surface low pressure from eastern Montana into western North Dakota ushered moisture northward into western and central North Dakota which served as fuel for thunderstorm development. Although forcing for storm development was weak, enough was present to produce a supercell thunderstorm that moved south-southeast through Bottineau County. This storm produced winds that destroyed grain bins and severely damaged crops. Later in the evening additional thunderstorms developed over southwest North Dakota, with one producing ping-pong ball size hail in Bowman County.

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 31, 3:41 PM CST, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 3:41 PM CST, 55 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 31, 1:52 PM CST, 2 hours 44 minutes before

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The radar

The Minot AFB radar (KMBX), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:37 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Bottineau

When: July 31, 4:36 PM CST to 4:40 PM CST
Where: Bottineau County, 6.63 mi NE of Landa
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $350,000
Crop damage: $250,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 48.970, -100.820

Seven empty hopper style grain bins were blown over, and one empty standard style grain bin was also destroyed. Various trees were damaged, with some smaller trees broken off. The wind was also accompanied by up to one-inch diameter hail and caused extensive crop damage in the area.

Thunderstorm Wind, Bottineau

When: July 31, 5:40 PM CST to 5:47 PM CST
Where: Bottineau County, 5.55 mi N of Kramer
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Crop damage: $75,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 48.780, -100.710

The strong thunderstorm winds combined with small hail to strip a nearby corn field down to its stalks.

Hail, Bowman

When: July 31, 7:21 PM MST to 7:25 PM MST
Where: Bowman County, 9.18 mi SSE of Bowman
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 46.050, -103.360

Hail, Bowman

When: July 31, 7:32 PM MST to 7:35 PM MST
Where: Bowman County, 8.33 mi NW of Haley
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.050, -103.250

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 2023 Every state in 2023 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, July 2023

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1120463, 1120464, 1120466, 1120467.