According to the National Weather Service, there was only a 20% chance of thunderstorms yesterday for Bismarck Mandan. In the end, it probably should have been 80% the reverse, as most of us in the Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln areas saw not only rain but also destructive hail.
The Bismarck Mandan region entered a severe thunderstorm warning at 4:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon. That storm brought heavy rain to northeast Bismarck and dropped hailstones as big as tennis balls, as reported by the National Weather Service. Our studios in Mandan saw very little rain, but we had an awesome hail blast around 4:45am as hail the size of golf balls hit the Strip (including my truck).
Another severe thunderstorm warning was issued at 4:45 a.m. for southeast Burleigh and adjacent counties south of Bismarck Mandan, which also brought heavy rain and hail. Most of these storms affected rural areas, but unfortunately crop damage was reported due to hail.
Here’s a look at some of the region’s rainfall totals according to iweather.net:
New Salem 0.34 inch rain
Mandan 0.07 inches of rain
Bismarck (city) 1.24 inches of rain
Bismarck (northeast) 1.77 inches of rain
McDowell dam 1.27 inches of rain
6 miles southeast of Lincoln 1.88 inches of rain
Lincoln (city) 0.67 inches of rain
Menoken 0.18 inch rain
Hazelton 0.01 inch of rain
Linton 0.71 inch rain
Sterling .01 inches of rain
Goose Lake 0.99 inch rain
Braddock 1.29 inch rain
Napoleon .58 inches of rain
Alkaline Lake 0.35 inches of rain
Steele .16 inches of rain
Driscoll .20 inches of rain
Sterling .02 inches of rain
Moffit .93 inches of rain
Hailstone Creek (7 miles west of New Salem) 1.02 inches of rain
Hanover 0.89 inches of rain