Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota · 2018

EF0 tornado, Rolla, North Dakota, June 14, 2018

This EF0 tornado ran 0.4 miles across Rolette County on June 14, 2018, touching down at 9:14 PM CDT and reaching 50 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 14, 2018
Touchdown
9:14 PM CDT (02:14 UTC)
Lifted
9:15 PM CDT (02:15 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.4 miles (0.6 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Rolette County
Touchdown point
48.852, -99.588
Lift-off point
48.852, -99.579
Record number
1806142014-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A potent short wave trough approached the Northern Plains where very strong instability and deep layer shear were noted. One long-lived severe storm developed in the morning over northwest North Dakota, but the bulk of the severe weather held off until later in the afternoon. Severe thunderstorms then developed over multiple locations in western and central North Dakota from the mid-afternoon into the evening hours. The largest hail fell in Bottineau County and was three inches in diameter. The strongest wind gust of 71 mph occurred in Emmons County.

The tornado remained over rural areas and caused no damage. Therefore, the 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.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:40 UTC and running to 04:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
20:40 UTC04:00 UTCTornado WatchBIS
20:59 UTC22:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS
01:11 UTC02:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS
01:43 UTC02:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningBIS
02:44 UTC03:17 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. 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

2.2 hours before the tornado, 246 km from the path. June 15, 2018.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 00:00Z on 2018-06-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2531 joules per kilogram, CIN -283, lifted condensation level 1747 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2018-06-15The 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 73 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 47 knots.193958Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

9.8 hours after it, 246 km from the path. June 15, 2018.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2018-06-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 35 joules per kilogram, CIN -636, lifted condensation level 892 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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 2018-06-15The 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 -29 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 47 knots.193958Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Minot AFB radar (KMBX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:14 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
01:39 UTCHAIL 1.5Saint JohnRolette, NDRELAYED THROUGH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
01:50 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD3 N Willow CityBottineau, ND
02:14 UTCTORNADORollaRolette, NDTORNADO 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 UTCTORNADO 15 Wsw AmourdaleTowner, NDA 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 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 W RocklakeTowner, ND2 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 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 W RocklakeTowner, NDSTEEL GRAIN BINS BLOWN DOWN ALONG WEST SIDE OF LAKE. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR.
02:37 UTCTSTM WND DMGRocklakeTowner, NDREPORT OF TREES BLOWN DOWN AROUND TOWN. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR.
02:37 UTCTSTM WND DMGRocklakeTowner, NDREPORT 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 UTCTORNADO 14 Ssw RocklakeTowner, NDA 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 UTCTSTM WND DMG8 N CandoTowner, NDPOPLAR TREE SNAPPED IN SHELTER BELT. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR.
03:23 UTCHAIL 1.755 Wnw CandoTowner, NDA FEW PING PONG BALL TO GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL IN VERY HEAVY RAIN. TIME ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR.
03:24 UTCTORNADO 1CalioCavalier, NDA 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 UTCHAIL 1.757 Wnw CandoTowner, NDPUBLIC ESTIMATED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL IN THE CANDO AREA. TIME AND LOCATION ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
03:34 UTCHAIL 1MunichCavalier, ND
03:44 UTCHAIL 17 Ssw MunichCavalier, NDHEAVY RAIN AND A FEW LARGE HAIL. SEVERAL LARGER TREE BRANCHES BROKEN DOWN AS WELL.
03:44 UTCHAIL 18 Ssw MunichCavalier, NDHEAVY RAIN AND A FEW LARGE HAIL. SEVERAL LARGER TREE BRANCHES BROKEN DOWN AS WELL.
05:10 UTCHAIL 1.757 Wnw CandoTowner, NDPUBLIC ESTIMATED GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL IN THE CANDO AREA. TIME AND LOCATION ESTIMATED BY RADAR.

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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 149:18 PM CDTEF1Towner, ND3.4200
June 149:45 PM CDTEF1Towner, ND4.0250
June 1410:24 PM CDTEF1Cavalier, ND4.0200

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.