Bismarck, ND

Weather Forecast Office

July 12-13, 2019: Western North Dakota Severe Storms and Mott Tornado

Overview

Late in the afternoon on July 12, 2019, several discrete supercell thunderstorms developed across the Canadian border in southern Saskatchewan. These storms went on to produce severe weather across parts of northwestern North Dakota, including a measured 68 mph wind gust near Tioga, ND.

As evening approached, new storms began to rapidly intensify further south around Dickinson, ND. One of these new storms quickly developed an intense mesocyclone, dropping golf ball size hail around Lefor, ND before heading towards Mott, ND.

Just north of Mott, an EF-1 tornado touched down around 9:24 MDT moving south southeast. Wind gusts of 72 mph and 90 mph were measured by a North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) station, likely associated with the outer edge of the tornadic circulation. The tornado then tracked through northeastern Mott before lifting just east of town about eight minutes later, near Mott Golf Course on highway 21.

Storms continued well into the morning hours of July 13, 2019, producing more sporadic severe wind and hail reports across parts of southwestern and central North Dakota.

Tornadic Supercell Over Mott, ND

(Courtesy of Nadra Auch)

Tornado
Photos & Video
Radar
Storm Reports

Tornadoes:

Tornado - MOTT, NORTH DAKOTA
HETTINGER COUNTY

Date	July, 12 2019
Time (Local)	9:24 PM MDT
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	105 mph
Path Length	2.85 miles
Max Width	200 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN AROUND 924 PM MDT ROUGHLY 2 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF MOTT AND TRACKED APPROXIMATELY 2.85 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST BEFORE LIFTING ABOUT 1 MILE EAST OF TOWN. EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE AND THE DESTRUCTION OF OUT BUILDINGS MARKED THE WORST OF THE EF-1 DAMAGE ALONG THE PATH WHICH TRACKED THROUGH THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF MOTT.

Track Map

Mott Tornado Track

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Photos & Video


Supercell Over Mott, ND (Courtesy of Nadra Auch)	Looking Toward Mott, ND from Burt, ND (Courtesy of Jessica Jantzen)	Golfball Size Hail: 1 Mile South of Lefor, ND (Courtesy of Deana Glaser)	Supercell: 10 Miles West of Williston, ND (Courtesy of Ashley Fultz)

Radar


Radar Loop: 7:00pm CDT Friday to 1:00am CDT Saturday	Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) Derived Rotational Tracks	Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) Derived Hail Swaths

Storm Reports

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

0707 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 8 N Grenora 48.73N 103.94W
07/12/2019 M59 MPH Divide ND Mesonet

NDAWN mesonet site.

0835 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 SE Tioga 48.38N 102.90W
07/12/2019 M68 MPH Williams ND AWOS

0840 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 4 S Tioga 48.34N 102.94W
07/12/2019 Williams ND Trained Spotter

Large 8 inch tree branch broken. Time
estimated via radar.

0932 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 SW Stanley 48.30N 102.41W
07/12/2019 E60 MPH Mountrail ND Trained Spotter

0935 PM Hail 1 SSW Lefor 46.67N 102.57W
07/12/2019 E1.75 inch Stark ND Trained Spotter

Small tree branches also broken. Time
estimated from radar.

1020 PM Hail 10 S Beulah 47.12N 101.78W
07/12/2019 E1.00 inch Mercer ND Public

Delayed report. Mostly dime to quarter size
hail. Time estimated from radar.

1024 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 N Mott 46.39N 102.33W
07/12/2019 M72 MPH Hettinger ND Mesonet

North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network
(NDAWN) station.

1025 PM Hail 7 NW Hannover 47.17N 101.55W
07/12/2019 E1.00 inch Oliver ND Trained Spotter

Delayed report. Mostly pea to nickel size
hail with a few quarters mixed in. Only
lasted about a minute.

1025 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 N Mott 46.39N 102.33W
07/12/2019 M90 MPH Hettinger ND Mesonet

North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network
(ndawn) station.

1027 PM Tornado 2 NNE Mott 46.39N 102.31W
07/12/2019 Hettinger ND Law Enforcement

Hettinger County sheriff deputy reports
tornado on the ground northeast of Mott.

1030 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Mott 46.37N 102.32W
07/12/2019 Hettinger ND Trained Spotter

12 inch diameter tree branch snapped off.
Reports of broken windows in Mott.

1115 PM Hail 11 S Bentley 46.16N 102.03W
07/12/2019 E1.00 inch Adams ND Public

Delayed report. A lot of small hail with a
few stones mixed in as large as a quarter.
Extensive crop damage. Time estimated from
radar.

0110 AM Hail 8 S Havelock 46.36N 102.72W
07/13/2019 E1.00 inch Hettinger ND Trained Spotter

Delayed report. A few quarters but did not
last long. Time estimated from radar.

0120 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 4 W Regan 47.16N 100.61W
07/13/2019 Burleigh ND Public

Delayed report. Roof blown off of a brand
new farm shop. Time estimated from radar.

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