Thunderstorm Wind in Pierce County, North Dakota

A surface boundary set up over central North Dakota, as a weak shortwave trough approached the region. Very strong instability developed through central North Dakota, with elevated deep-layer shear. Initial severe storms produced large hail, with a mix of large hail and damaging wind gusts as time went on. Some of the winds became very damaging over north-central North Dakota. Near Balta, a farm sustained heavy property and tree damage with a measured wind gust of 110 mph, with other farms in the area suffering mainly tree damage. Tree damage also was reported in Rugby. Further north, in Rolette County, the city of Dunseith was severely affected with many trees snapped or uprooted, along with downed power lines. One individual was injured (indirect) when he was burned while cleaning up tree branches and came in contact with a live downed electrical wire. Near the City of Rolette, a porch and multiple teepees were damaged. This damage was attributed to a gustnado, which formed out ahead of the thunderstorm. Video evidence showed there was no connection from the ground circulation to the cloud base, and based on that, it was determined that this was a gustnado and not a tornado. NWS policy directives dictate that a gustnado is classified as a Thunderstorm Wind event in StormData.