Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota · 2018
EF1 tornado, Calio to Munich, North Dakota, June 14, 2018
From Calio to Munich, this EF1 tornado ran 4.0 miles across Cavalier County on June 14, 2018, touching down at 10:24 PM CDT and reaching 200 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.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- EF1
- Date
- June 14, 2018
- Touchdown
- 10:24 PM CDT (03:24 UTC)
- Lifted
- 10:33 PM CDT (03:33 UTC)
- On the ground
- 9 minutes
- Path length
- 4.0 miles (6.4 km)
- Path width
- 200 yards (183 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Cavalier County
- Touchdown point
- 48.620, -98.940
- Lift-off point
- 48.630, -98.845
- Record number
- 1806142124-01
What the Weather Service recorded
Somewhat unexpectedly, one very strong thunderstorm tracked across north central North Dakota into the northern Devils Lake region during the late afternoon of June 14th, dropping large hail and heavy rain. Several hours later, more thunderstorms across southern Manitoba moved back into the same area north of Devils Lake. These storms produced several tornadoes, strong winds, and large hail. Strong storms also fired up across southeast North Dakota around midnight, which tracked toward the Fargo-Moorhead area in the early morning hours of the June 15th.
A partially rain wrapped tornado tracked 3 to 4 miles, from the northwest corner of Calio into northeast Seivert Township. The tornado blew down several trees in Calio and tore some steel sheets off a shop roof. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
28 minutes of warning. NWS FGF issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:56 UTC, 28 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 03:45 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:32 UTC and running to 07:00 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:17 UTC | 22:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 21:57 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 22:57 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 01:32 UTC | 07:00 UTC | Tornado Watch | FGF |
| 01:54 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 02:17 UTC | 03:00 UTC | Tornado Warning | FGF |
| 02:56 UTC | 03:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | FGF |
| 03:29 UTC | 04:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 03:42 UTC | 04:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 04:15 UTC | 05:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 04:59 UTC | 05:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
| 05:40 UTC | 06:22 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF |
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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:52 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
3.4 hours before the tornado, 247 km from the path. June 15, 2018.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2531 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -283 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3875 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1747 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.4 K/km
Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), 12:00Z
8.6 hours after it, 247 km from the path. June 15, 2018.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 35 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -636 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 102 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 892 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 3 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -29 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 132 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.9 K/km
The surface observations
Cando (9D7), 30 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01:35 UTC | 77 | 66.2 | 160° 10 kt | 19 | 1001.7 | |
| 01:55 UTC | 77 | 66.2 | 140° 15 kt | 25 | 1001.4 | |
| 02:15 UTC | 75.2 | 68 | 130° 14 kt | 1001.4 | ||
| 02:35 UTC | 75.2 | 68 | 130° 11 kt | 1001.4 | VCTS | |
| 02:55 UTC | 75.2 | 66.2 | 140° 14 kt | 20 | 1001.4 | VCTS |
| 03:15 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 40° 11 kt | 1002.4 | TS | |
| 03:35 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 40° 10 kt | 27 | 1002.7 | TS |
| 03:55 UTC | 68 | 68 | 110° 20 kt | 1001.4 | VCTS RA | |
| 04:15 UTC | 68 | 68 | 100° 14 kt | 27 | 1002.7 | TS |
| 04:35 UTC | 69.8 | 69.8 | 120° 16 kt | 1002.4 | TS | |
| 04:55 UTC | 69.8 | 69.8 | 130° 17 kt | 1002.7 | TS | |
| 05:15 UTC | 68 | 120° 9 kt | 1003.7 | VCTS |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Minot AFB radar (KMBX), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:25 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02:14 UTC | TORNADO | Rolla | Rolette, ND | TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ONE HALF MILE EAST OF ROLLA. TOUCHED DOWN FOR LESS THAN A MINUTE IN A GRASS FIELD. THE DURATION OF THE TORNADO EVENT WAS 1 MINUTE. |
| 02:18 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 5 Wsw Amourdale | Towner, ND | A PARTIALLY RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO LIKELY TRACKED INTERMITTENTLY TO THE SOUTHEAST FOR ABOUT 3 MILES, ENDING ABOUT 4 SSW OF AMOURDALE BY 924 PM CDT. AT LEAST ONE POWER POLE WAS CRACKED AND POWER LINES WERE TORN DOWN IN CENT |
| 02:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Rocklake | Towner, ND | 2 HOPPER BOTTOMED GRAIN BINS AND A GRAIN DRYER WERE BLOWN OVER AT A SITE JUST WEST OF THE LAKE. A 5K BUSHEL STEEL GRAIN BIN WAS DENTED IN NEAT THE ROOF LINE. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. |
| 02:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Rocklake | Towner, ND | STEEL GRAIN BINS BLOWN DOWN ALONG WEST SIDE OF LAKE. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. |
| 02:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Rocklake | Towner, ND | REPORT OF TREES BLOWN DOWN AROUND TOWN. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. |
| 02:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Rocklake | Towner, ND | REPORT OF TREES BLOWN DOWN AROUND TOWN. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. A STORM SURVEY ALSO FOUND THAT SOME STEEL SIDING HAD BEEN TORN OFF THE SIDES OF A GRAIN CLEANING FACILITY. |
| 02:45 UTC | TORNADO 1 | 4 Ssw Rocklake | Towner, ND | A PARTIALLY RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO LIKELY TRACKED EASTWARD FOR ROUGHLY 4 MILES ACROSS SOUTHERN VIRGINIA TOWNSHIP, ENDING ABOUT 6 NNW OF EGELAND BY 956 PM CDT. THE TORNADO PICKED AND TOSSED A HOPPER BOTTOM GRAIN BIN ABOUT 4 |
| 03:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 8 N Cando | Towner, ND | POPLAR TREE SNAPPED IN SHELTER BELT. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. |
| 03:23 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 5 Wnw Cando | Towner, ND | A FEW PING PONG BALL TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL IN VERY HEAVY RAIN. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. |
| 03:24 UTC | TORNADO 1 | Calio | Cavalier, ND | A PARTIALLY RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO LIKELY TRACKED 3 TO 4 MILES TO THE ESE, FROM THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF CALIO INTO NORTHEAST SEIVERT TOWNSHIP, ENDING ROUGHLY 3 SSW OF MUNICH BY 1033 PM CDT. THE TORNADO BLEW DOWN SEVERAL TR |
| 03:25 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 7 Wnw Cando | Towner, ND | PUBLIC ESTIMATED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL IN THE CANDO AREA. TIME AND LOCATION ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 03:34 UTC | HAIL 1 | Munich | Cavalier, ND | |
| 03:44 UTC | HAIL 1 | 7 Ssw Munich | Cavalier, ND | HEAVY RAIN AND A FEW LARGE HAIL. SEVERAL LARGER TREE BRANCHES BROKEN DOWN AS WELL. |
| 03:44 UTC | HAIL 1 | 8 Ssw Munich | Cavalier, ND | HEAVY RAIN AND A FEW LARGE HAIL. SEVERAL LARGER TREE BRANCHES BROKEN DOWN AS WELL. |
| 03:45 UTC | HAIL 1 | 5 Se Calio | Cavalier, ND | PUBLIC ESTIMATED ONE INCH HAIL. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 04:25 UTC | HAIL 1 | 5 Wsw Hampden | Ramsey, ND | A COUPLE MINUTES OF DIME TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL AND A QUICK HALF INCH OR RAIN. |
| 04:45 UTC | HAIL 1.5 | 6 N Minnewaukan | Benson, ND | SOME CROP DAMAGE NOTED ACROSS NORTHEAST RIGGIN TOWNSHIP. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR. |
| 05:10 UTC | HAIL 0.88 | 11 Nw Devils Lake | Ramsey, ND | PUBLIC ESTIMATED NICKEL SIZED HAIL AND REPORTED 0.7 IN OF RAINFALL. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 05:10 UTC | HAIL 1.75 | 7 Wnw Cando | Towner, ND | PUBLIC ESTIMATED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL IN THE CANDO AREA. TIME AND LOCATION ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 05:30 UTC | HAIL 1 | 7 N Devils Lake | Ramsey, ND | PUBLIC ESTIMATED PEA TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2018 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 14, 2018
3 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
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.