Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota · 2014

EF0 tornado, (Dik)Dickinson Muni, North Dakota, June 16, 2014

This EF0 tornado ran 1.4 miles across Stark County on June 16, 2014, touching down at 8:23 PM MDT and reaching 25 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
June 16, 2014
Touchdown
8:23 PM MDT (02:23 UTC)
Lifted
8:27 PM MDT (02:27 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
1.4 miles (2.2 km)
Path width
25 yards (23 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Stark County
Touchdown point
46.710, -102.900
Lift-off point
46.703, -102.873
Record number
1406162023-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms brought large hail and a brief tornado to southwest North Dakota during the evening hours.

This tornado touched down briefly in open country. There was no damage so this tornado was rated EF0.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
00:57 UTC02:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS
01:09 UTC01:45 UTCTornado WarningBIS
02:00 UTC02:28 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS
02:25 UTC03:00 UTCTornado WarningBIS
03:15 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS
04:09 UTC04:22 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:14 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), 00:00Z

2.4 hours before the tornado, 167 km from the path. June 17, 2014.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2014-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 207 joules per kilogram, CIN -66, lifted condensation level 1837 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2014-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -6 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
207 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-66 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1210 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1837 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
19 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
7.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), 12:00Z

9.6 hours after it, 167 km from the path. June 17, 2014.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2014-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1 joules per kilogram, CIN -427, lifted condensation level 943 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2014-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -27 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 33 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-427 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
943 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Dickinson (DIK), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:23 UTC706080° 8 kt1003.4VCTS
00:39 UTC696080° 9 kt1003.4TS
00:54 UTC69.860.870° 9 kt1004.1VCTS
00:56 UTC696070° 9 kt1003.7VCTS
01:23 UTC686080° 11 kt1003.7TS
01:56 UTC6355360° 10 kt1004.7-TSRA
02:03 UTC6054360° 16 kt1005.1+TSRA
02:06 UTC5955340° 19 kt221005.8+TSRA BR
02:13 UTC585510° 20 kt241005.8+TSRA FG
02:20 UTC605780° 14 kt1005.4+TSRA FG
02:33 UTC635780° 15 kt1005.1+TSRA
02:45 UTC6259100° 12 kt201005.4-TSRA BR
02:52 UTC62.657.2190° 15 kt201006.1-TSRA
02:53 UTC6057180° 17 kt1006.1TSRA
03:00 UTC5855150° 10 kt241006.4+TSRA BR
03:56 UTC605590° 10 kt1005.4TS
04:06 UTC5956160° 4 kt1006.1VCTS

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 162 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
00:14 UTCHAIL 0.7512 Ne RegentHettinger, ND
00:15 UTCHAIL 1.7514 Ne RegentHettinger, NDVERY HEAVY RAINFALL ALSO REPORTED
00:52 UTCHAIL 1South HeartStark, ND
01:11 UTCHAIL 21 Se South HeartStark, NDREPORT RELAYED BY MEDIA. HAIL SIZE ESTIMATED FROM PHOTO.
01:15 UTCHAIL 2.753 Se South HeartStark, NDMOSTLY QUARTER SIZED HAIL WITH SOME BASEBALL SIZED HAIL
02:23 UTCTORNADO13 Ssw DickinsonStark, NDREPORT RELAYED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. TORNADO TOUCHDOWN REPORTED. NO FURTHER DETAILS.
04:20 UTCHAIL 0.88New EnglandHettinger, ND

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in North DakotaEvery tornado in North Dakota since 1950Warnings in force in North Dakota nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 16, 2014

35 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 163:38 PM CDTEF0Stanton, NE1.3100
June 163:42 PM CDTEF4Stanton, NE12.1400$2.0 million
June 163:43 PM CDTEF0Lyon, IA0.250
June 164:00 PM CDTEF4Stanton, NE23.9500120$14 million
June 164:13 PM CDTEF4Stanton, NE11.55001$1.1 million
June 164:40 PM CDTEF4Wayne, NE15.8530$3.0 million
June 165:41 PM CDTEF0Dakota, NE0.350
June 165:44 PM CDTEF0Pocahontas, IA6.1250
June 166:22 PM CDTEF0Humboldt, IA4.650
June 166:24 PM CDTEF0Custer, NE0.240
June 166:35 PM CDTEF1Garfield, NE2.4400$15,000
June 166:48 PM CDTEF1Cerro Gordo, IA3.0110$50,000
June 166:52 PM CDTEF1Wright, IA2.6175$27,000
June 166:56 PM CDTEF0Cerro Gordo, IA1.140$5,000
June 167:01 PM CDTEF2Garfield, NE5.2500$100,000
June 167:20 PM CDTEF2Garfield, NE1.6700$100,000
June 167:28 PM CDTEF2Garfield, NE0.3400$5,000
June 167:30 PM CDTEF0Garfield, NE0.240$1,000
June 167:39 PM CDTEF1Butler, IA4.7100$200,000
June 167:45 PM CDTEF0Butler, IA1.7150$400,000
June 167:52 PM CDTEF1Butler, IA2.1120$200,000
June 168:12 PM CDTEF0Bremer, IA2.075
June 169:30 PM CDTEF1Buchanan, IA1.350$50,000
June 169:33 PM CDTEF1Delaware, IA12.650$100,000
June 1610:05 PM CDTEF0Benton, IA0.130
June 1610:45 PM CDTEF2Grant, WI3.81005$21 million
June 1610:49 PM CDTEF1Grant, WI0.525$540,000
June 1611:00 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, WI1.250$33,000
June 1611:00 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, WI4.3200$1.5 million
June 1611:10 PM CDTEF1Iowa, WI0.4100$20,000
June 1611:36 PM CDTEF1Green, WI0.5125$200,000
June 1611:36 PM CDTEF1Green, WI0.4125$50,000
June 1612:08 AM CDTEF3Dane, WI1.0100$14 million
June 1612:15 AM CDTEF2Dane, WI0.2200$5.0 million
June 1612:21 AM CDTEF1Dane, WI1.5300$300,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.