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Bismarck, ND

Weather Forecast Office

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

Weather.gov > Bismarck, ND > 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
Tornadic Supercell Over Mott, ND

(Courtesy of Nadra Auch)

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

EF-Scale

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
ef-scale
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