Severe Thunderstorms Across North Dakota on August 7th and 8th, 2025

Photos & Video

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Damage to a manufactured home in Jamestown. (NWS Damage Survey)	A large spruce tree was uprooted onto a small garage, destroying the structure, in Jamestown.  (NWS Damage Survey)	Multiple trees had trunks or large branches snapped at McElroy Park in Jamestown. (NWS Damage Survey)	Roof damage on a building in Jamestown. (NWS Damage Survey)

Large grain bin with the top blown over, north of Courtenay. (NWS Damage Survey)	Damage at a farm north of Courtenay. (NWS Damage Survey)	Damage to a farm outbuilding north of Courtenay. (NWS Damage Survey)	Large branches snapped on shelter belt trees, north of Courtenay. (NWS Damage Survey)

Thunderstorm damage near Pettibone. (source)	Thunderstorm damage near Pettibone. (source)	Severe thunderstorm approaching Palermo. (NDAWN)	Severe thunderstorm approaching Noonan. (NDAWN)

Storm Reports

Radar

Environment

A warm front moved north through North Dakota during the morning and afternoon hours on August 7 (Fig. 6). There was concern for thunderstorm development along this front in western North Dakota during the afternoon, but a layer of warm air aloft (Figs. 4 and 5) prevented updraft growth. There was however a lone supercell that developed near the Turtle Mountains during the late afternoon that moved northeast into Manitoba. By mid evening, stronger forcing mechanisms in the mid to upper levels of the atmosphere provided enough lift for air parcels to overcome the warmer air aloft, allowing severe thunderstorms to develop (Fig. 1). As the late evening progressed into the night, 3 distinct lines of severe storms (Fig. 2) eventually merged into a single line across central North Dakota (Fig. 3). It was around the time of the congealing of the 3 lines into one that the storms became most intense and produced widespread damage across portions of Kidder and Stutsman Counties. The line of storms would later go on to produce several tornadoes in northeastern North Dakota between 3 and 5 am, including near the city of Grand Forks.

Figure 1: Storm Prediction Center Mesoscale Discussion #1900 issued at 7:41 PM CDT August 7	Figure 2: Storm Prediction Center Mesoscale Discussion #1901 issued at 10:32 PM CDT August 7	Figure 3: Storm Prediction Center Mesoscale Discussion #1902 issued at 1:20 AM CDT August 8

Figure 4: Bismarck Special (2:00 PM CDT) Weather Balloon Sounding	Figure 5: 7:00 PM CDT Bismarck Weather Balloon Sounding	Figure 6: Surface analysis from the Weather Prediction Center at 7 PM CDT August 7