EF0 tornado in Burke County, North Dakota

A brief tornado touched down in the open country west of Bowbells. No structures were impacted so no damage was done. This tornado was spawned from the same supercell thunderstorm that later produced another brief tornado in Burke County and a long tracked high end EF3 tornado from Burke into Ward County. See the other two tornado entries for Burke County and the tornado entry for Ward County from August 12.

A significant severe weather event evolved during the evening hours of Thursday, August 12th, and continued into the early morning hours of Friday, August 13th. Southwest flow aloft was in place across the Northern Plains region, ahead of an upper level trough over the Northern Rockies. A potent upper level impulse ejecting from the base of the trough provided the trigger for two areas of strong to severe convection. The first area was near a stationary boundary across southern North Dakota, where intense thunderstorm winds of 80 to near 100 mph were observed. The second area was ahead of a cold front over north central North Dakota, where an isolated tornadic supercell developed and spawned an EF3 tornado near Bowbells.

Well into this event, Severe Thunderstorm Watch number 605 was issued across southwest and south central North Dakota in anticipation of a Mesoscale Convective System over southwest North Dakota tracking eastward along the South Dakota border area. By the time of the watch issuance, the tornadic supercell over north central North Dakota had dissipated.

Multiple severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings were issued. Several reports of large hail, numerous reports of strong thunderstorm winds, and one confirmed EF3 tornado was received during this episode.

The EF3 tornado tragically claimed one fatality. An automobile traveling east on Highway 52 was picked up and carried several hundred yards before being thrown into a field. Another person in the car was injured. In addition, a farmstead sustained heavy damage from the tornado, with severe damage observed to the home and several outbuildings.