The dozens of injuries and one casualty caused by the tornado that hit Watford City last summer has the McKenzie County Emergency Management team thinking ahead. The department is willing to try anything to prevent other incidents from happening during future natural disasters. Karoline Jappe, the Emergency Services Manager, took to Facebook to suggest one…
Emergency manager hopes for improved weather radar coverage
WATFORD CITY, N.D. – A county emergency manager is pushing for better weather radar coverage in western North Dakota after a tornado ripped through the area. The closest Doppler radars to Watford City are about 140 miles away near Minot. Warning coordination meteorologist John Paul Martin says radars at that distance detect storms forming at…
North Dakota RV park residents didn’t hear warning sirens before tornado
WATFORD CITY, N.D. — Warning sirens were sounded before a tornado ravaged an RV park in a city on the North Dakota oil patch, but park residents said they didn’t hear them, authorities said Wednesday. A newborn baby was killed and more than two dozen people were injured when the storm moved through Watford City…
One-week-old baby dies from injuries in devastating ND RV park tornado
WATFORD CITY, N.D. — A 1-week-old baby died Tuesday, July 10, after a tornado ripped through a Watford City RV park, injuring more than two dozen and displacing about 200 people. A somber McKenzie County Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger confirmed late Tuesday the baby died from his injuries about 9:30 a.m. while first responders were preparing…