SKYWARN · North Dakota
NWS Bismarck BIS
36 counties, 4 radars, one forecaster on the warning desk when it goes bad. This page is what that desk is looking at, plus the nets that feed it.
1 active · 0 warnings
NWS checked 11:26 PM- Wind AdvisoryModerate · NPWBIS · until Fri 5:00 AMDivide; Burke; Renville; Bottineau; Rolette; Williams; Mountrail; McHenry; Pierce; McKenzie; Dunn; Mercer; Oliver; Sheridan; Wells; Foster; Golden Valley; Billings; Stark; Burleigh; Kidder; Stutsman; Slope; Hettinger; Grant; Bowman; Adams; Emmons; Logan; La Moure; McIntosh; Dickey; Northwest Ward; Central and Southern Ward/Minot Area; Western McLean; Eastern McLean; Western Morton; Eastern Morton; Western Sioux; Eastern Sioux
Radar
NWS RIDGE · base reflectivity · last hour
Deeper look: KBIS interactive ↗ · KBIS at College of DuPage ↗ · KMBX interactive ↗ · KMBX at College of DuPage ↗ - velocity, correlation coefficient and every tilt.
SPC outlook · day 1
categorical
Marginal → Slight → Enhanced → Moderate → High · day 2 ↗ · mesoscale discussions ↗
Reports taken by this office today
0 · SPC preliminaryNo spotter reports logged by BIS so far today (UTC).
Cameras near the office
none listed yetNo cameras listed near Bismarck yet. Know one?
Radar tells you what the storm is doing; these tell you what it looks like. Pictures open at their source - ODOT and the Mesonet allow linking, not republishing.
SKYWARN & weather nets for this office
Suggest or fix one →No net is listed for NWS Bismarck yet. If you know the repeater and who runs it, suggest it - the state coordinator checks it and it shows up here and on the state hub. Never guess a frequency from memory; a wrong one during a warning is worse than none.
NOAA Weather Radio in this area
15 transmitters · this office’s first, neighbours after162.475 MHz KWN42 · Rollacovers Bottineau, McHenry, Pierce, Rolette, Towner · 300 W · NWS Bismarck
162.450 MHz KWN45 · Willow Citycovers Bottineau, McHenry, Pierce, Rolette, Towner · 300 W · NWS Bismarck
162.400 MHz WNG581 · Steelecovers Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Logan, Stutsman · 300 W · NWS Bismarck
162.525 MHz WNG658 · Scrantoncovers Adams (C| W| N), Bowman, Hettinger, Slope · 1000 W · NWS Bismarck
162.475 MHz WXL78 · Bismarckcovers Burleigh, Emmons, Grant, Kidder, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sheridan, Sioux, Wells · 1000 W · NWS Bismarck
162.400 MHz WXL80 · Dickinsoncovers Billings, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Slope, Stark · 800 W · NWS Bismarck
162.550 MHz WXL81 · Jamestowncovers Barnes, Dickey, Foster, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Stutsman · 1000 W · NWS Bismarck
162.400 MHz WXL83 · Minotcovers Bottineau, Burke, McHenry, McLean, Mountrail, Pierce, Renville, Rolette, Ward · 1000 W · NWS Bismarck
162.550 MHz WXL84 · Willistoncovers Divide (ALL), McKenzie (ALL), Williams (ALL) · 1000 W · NWS Bismarck
162.525 MHz WXN88 · New Towncovers Dunn, McLean, Mountrail · 300 W · NWS Bismarck
162.525 MHz KWN46 · Sheyennecovers Benson, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Pierce, Ransom, Stutsman, Wells · 1000 W · NWS Grand Forks
162.525 MHz WNG656 · Fort Ransomcovers Barnes, Foster, Pierce, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman · 1000 W · NWS Grand Forks
162.550 MHz WXK57 · Bakercovers Bowman (W), Slope (W) · 300 W · NWS Billings
162.475 MHz WXM25 · Aberdeencovers Dickey · 1000 W · NWS Aberdeen
162.500 MHz WXM40 · Lowrycovers Emmons (ALL), McIntosh (ALL) · 1000 W · NWS Aberdeen
What to report, and where
Size charts and the full guide →🌪️ Tornado, funnel, wall cloud
- ·Tornado on the ground (say if you see debris)
- ·Funnel cloud - rotating, not touching down
- ·Wall cloud, especially a rotating one
- ·Where it is relative to you, and which way it's moving
🧊 Hail
- ·The largest stone, compared to a coin or ball (chart below)
- ·1″ (quarter) is the severe threshold - smaller is still worth a report to most offices
- ·How long it fell and whether it's covering the ground
💨 Wind
- ·Measured gusts of 40 mph+; 58 mph is severe
- ·Damage: trees down, limbs bigger than your arm, roof or structure damage, power lines
- ·Say whether it was measured or estimated
🌊 Flooding
- ·Water over a road, especially moving water
- ·Creeks and rivers rising fast or out of their banks
- ·Rainfall of 1″ or more in an hour if you have a gauge
❄️ Winter
- ·Snowfall of 1″ an hour or more, and totals
- ·Freezing rain and ice accumulation on wires and trees
- ·Visibility under ¼ mile, blowing and drifting
🚫 Not this
- ·Lightning and thunder on their own
- ·Rain that isn't causing flooding
- ·Ordinary dark clouds, scud, or clouds that only look scary
- 1 · The net, if one is up
When the office activates SKYWARN, a net control on the local repeater takes reports in a set format and relays them straight to the forecaster. Listen first, check in when asked, keep it short: who, what, where, when.
- 2 · The office directly
No net running? Every office has a spotter line or online report form on its SKYWARN page - for you that’s NWS Bismarck. Trained spotters get the number in class; anyone can use the form.
- 3 · Tell the room here
/report hail quarter · 71st & Memorial in #nd-wx puts it in front of everyone watching the state. It does not reach the NWS - do 1 or 2 for that.
Counties served by NWS Bismarck · 36
NDC001 Adams
NDC007 Billings
NDC009 Bottineau
NDC011 Bowman
NDC013 Burke
NDC015 Burleigh
NDC021 Dickey
NDC023 Divide
NDC025 Dunn
NDC029 Emmons
NDC031 Foster
NDC033 Golden Valley
NDC037 Grant
NDC041 Hettinger
NDC043 Kidder
NDC045 LaMoure
NDC047 Logan
NDC049 McHenry
NDC051 McIntosh
NDC053 McKenzie
NDC055 McLean
NDC057 Mercer
NDC059 Morton
NDC061 Mountrail
NDC065 Oliver
NDC069 Pierce
NDC075 Renville
NDC079 Rolette
NDC083 Sheridan
NDC085 Sioux
NDC087 Slope
NDC089 Stark
NDC093 Stutsman
NDC101 Ward
NDC103 Wells
NDC105 Williams