Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota · 2018

EF0 tornado, Chaffee to Woods, North Dakota, June 8, 2018

Name: EF0 tornado, Chaffee to Woods, North Dakota, June 8, 2018
Start: 2018-06-08T21:47:00.000Z
Location: Chaffee to Woods, North Dakota

From Chaffee to Woods, this EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Cass County on June 8, 2018, touching down at 4:47 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.

EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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: EF0
Date: June 8, 2018
Touchdown: 4:47 PM CDT (21:47 UTC)
Path length: 0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width: 50 yards (46 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Cass County
Touchdown point: 46.740, -97.310
Lift-off point: 46.740, -97.310
Record number: 1806081547-01

What the Weather Service recorded

Thunderstorms formed over eastern North Dakota during the mid afternoon of June 8th and spread eastward into the Red River Valley by the mid to late afternoon and early evening. These storms produced a few weak tornadoes and strong wind gusts. Just north of Reynolds, two semi trucks were blown over, which garnered a lot of media interest.

There was a lot of rotation with this storm, it sent out funnel clouds every few minutes. A couple of brief touchdowns were evident in video over an open field. Peak winds were estimated at 70 mph.

A brief touchdown was reported with no damage.

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

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Jun 8, 3:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 8, 3:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Grand Forks ND
300 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

.SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday)
Issued at 300 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

KMVX radar shows the upper level circulation just east of Devils
Lake at 3:00pm, as does water vapor imagery. MLCAPE in location of
this activity is around 500 J/KG, and forcing looks to stay just
ahead of stronger instability and deep layer shear. This activity
is also out ahead of stronger surface vorticity, and will likely
remain ahead of stronger surface vorticity. Thus, severe
wind/hail and/or non-supercell tornado potential appears to be
very low (but not out of the question considering the upper low).

Increased PoPs along the expected track of the upper low since it
appears showers/thunder will hold together into the evening. CAMs
agree, with 0.25-0.50 inch of rain possible.

Upper ridging builds into the region for Saturday, although
confidence in details are low. Most areas tonight into Saturday
will remain dry.

.LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Friday)
Issued at 300 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

As upper ridging across the northern Plains pushes eastward late in
the weekend, a strong upper trough will propagate north and east out
of the Pacific Northwest. Breezy, warm, and dry conditions can be
expected through the first half of the day Sunday before a
developing surface low begins to track towards the area. This system
will allow precipitation chances to return by the end of the weekend
and continue into the start of the new work week. Strong to severe
storms could be possible as a fairly strong cold front passes from
west to east but the best chances for this could hinge on the timing
of the frontal passage.

As the surface low slowly tracks through the area on Monday,
precipitation chances linger throughout the day before finally
clearing out Monday night. Breezy and cool conditions will follow in
the wake of the cold front with high temperatures to start the work
week back down to around, or even slightly below, normal values (low
to mid 70s).

The cooler temperatures look to continue through the rest of the
period with periodic chances here and there for showers or
thunderstorms.

&&

.AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon)
Issued at 1241 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

Showers with embedded thunder the main concern for today.
Attempted to time the better chances for this to occur in each
forecast. There is a decent potential for MVFR cigs Saturday
morning along and east of the Red River Valley.

&&

.FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ND...None.
MN...None.
&&

SHORT TERM...TG
LONG TERM...Lee
AVIATION...TG

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 8, 2:40 PM CDT, 2 hours 7 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Grand Forks ND
240 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

MNZ001>003-007-008-013>015-022-027>032-040-NDZ016-026>030-038-039-
049-052-053-091200-
West Polk-Norman-Clay-West Marshall-East Marshall-Pennington-
Red Lake-East Polk-Mahnomen-West Becker-East Becker-Wilkin-
West Otter Tail-East Otter Tail-Wadena-Grant-Eastern Walsh County-
Nelson-Grand Forks-Griggs-Steele-Traill-Barnes-Cass-Ransom-
Sargent-Richland-
240 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of eastern North
Dakota, west central and northwest Minnesota.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms will occur across a portion of the
region into the evening. A few storms may become strong to severe,
with hail up to an inch, winds up to 60 mph, and a brief tornado
possible.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday

Thunderstorms appear likely Sunday night into Monday. Some of
these thunderstorms could become severe Sunday night with
damaging wind gusts the main threat. A few locations could also
see heavy rain and localized flooding.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not anticipated.

MNZ004>006-009-016-017-023-024-NDZ006>008-014-015-024-054-091200-
Kittson-Roseau-Lake Of The Woods-North Beltrami-North Clearwater-
South Beltrami-South Clearwater-Hubbard-Towner-Cavalier-Pembina-
Benson-Ramsey-Eddy-Western Walsh County-
240 PM CDT Fri Jun 8 2018

This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of eastern North
Dakota, west central and northwest Minnesota.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms are possible into the evening hours. The
probability for widespread hazardous weather is low.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday

Thunderstorms appear likely Sunday night into Monday. Some of
these thunderstorms could become severe Sunday night with
damaging wind gusts the main threat. A few locations could also
see heavy rain and localized flooding.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not anticipated.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 8, 3:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
320 PM CDT FRI JUN 8 2018

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0307 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     5 N VALLEY CITY         47.00N 98.02W
06/08/2018                   Barnes             ND   911 CALL CENTER

            CALL FROM VALLEY CITY WARNING POINT WITH REPORT OF A
            FUNNEL CLOUD

&&

NC

Local storm report, Jun 8, 4:12 PM CDT, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
412 PM CDT FRI JUN 8 2018

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0405 PM     TORNADO          6 SE TOWER CITY         46.86N 97.59W
06/08/2018                   Cass               ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

            CALL FROM A SPOTTER WITH A REPORT OF A TORNADO ON THE
            GROUND

&&

NC

Special weather statement, Jun 8, 4:21 PM CDT, 26 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Eastern ND/Grand Forks ND
421 PM CDT FRI JUN 8 2018

NDZ026-027-054-082215-
Nelson ND-Western Walsh County ND-Grand Forks ND-
421 PM CDT FRI JUN 8 2018

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN GRAND FORKS...
NORTHEASTERN NELSON AND SOUTHWESTERN WALSH COUNTIES UNTIL 515 PM
CDT...

At 420 PM CDT, the public reported a funnel cloud near Michigan, or
35 miles east of Devils Lake, moving northeast at 15 mph.

Dime size hail will be possible with this storm.

This thunderstorm will be near...
  Petersburg around 425 PM CDT.
  Whitman around 435 PM CDT.
  Dahlen around 505 PM CDT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement
agency. They will relay your report to the National Weather Service
office in Grand Forks.

&&

LAT...LON 4831 9800 4821 9786 4820 9786 4819 9783
      4812 9772 4796 9809 4809 9827
TIME...MOT...LOC 2120Z 230DEG 11KT 4808 9810

JH

Local storm report, Jun 8, 4:26 PM CDT, 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
426 PM CDT FRI JUN 8 2018

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0412 PM     TORNADO          2 NW MICHIGAN           48.05N 98.15W
06/08/2018                   Nelson             ND   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SHORT LIVED TORNADO ON THE GROUND FOR A FEW MINUTES
            BEFORE LIFTING

&&

NC

Local storm report, Jun 8, 4:37 PM CDT, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
437 PM CDT FRI JUN 8 2018

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0430 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 N REYNOLDS            47.69N 97.11W
06/08/2018                   Grand Forks        ND   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TWO SEMIS FLIPPED OVER ON I-29 DUE TO WINDS

&&

NC

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.

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), 12:00Z

9.8 hours before the tornado, 221 km from the path. June 8, 2018.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -100973 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 778 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -4 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

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), 00:00Z

2.2 hours after it, 221 km from the path. June 9, 2018.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 755 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -101 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1393 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2119 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 3 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 74 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 8.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Fargo (FAR), 43 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:47 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.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2018 tornado in North Dakota Every tornado in North Dakota since 1950 Warnings in force in North Dakota now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 8, 2018

6 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 8	4:00 PM CDT	EF0	Cass, ND	1.0	200
June 8	4:12 PM CDT	EF0	Nelson, ND	0.3	75
June 8	4:54 PM CDT	EF1	Nelson, ND	2.7	150
June 8	5:12 PM CDT	EF0	Grand Forks, ND	0.9	100
June 8	5:21 PM CDT	EF0	Cass, ND	0.1	25
June 8	5:30 PM CDT	EF0	Grand Forks, ND	1.0	100

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.