Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Billings, MT

June 8, 1986Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at Jun 8, 1986, 3:35 PM MDT for Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Montana. It was in force for 55 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 8, 1986, 3:35 PM MDT (21:35 UTC)
Expired
Jun 8, 1986, 4:30 PM MDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

Counties Musselshell County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 221 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Great_falls, MT at 12:00Z on 1986-06-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Great_falls, MT at 12:00Z on 1986-06-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBIL 082136
TORBIL
MTC065-111-082230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
335 PM MDT SUN JUN 8 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

MONTANA...SOUTHERN MUSSELSHELL...NORTHERN CENTRAL YELLOWSTONE...CITY
 OF BILLINGS AND CITY OF ROUNDUP

A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS SIGHTED BY THE PUBLIC AT 325 PM MDT THIS
SUNDAY AFTERNOON 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF BILLINGS MONTANA. THIS
FUNNEL CLOUD WAS NOT TOUCHING THE GROUND. THE BILLINGS MONTANA
RADAR INDICATES INTENSE THUNDERSTORM CELLS IN THAT AREA.

 THESE STORMS CAN AND OFTEN DO PRODUCE TORNADOES ON VERY SHORT
 NOTICE.
 THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY
 WINDS.

 IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY.
 WHEN IT IS SAFE PLEASE ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
 TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NEAREST ?NATIONAL
 WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE, OR CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  AT
 BILLINGS MONTANA. 406-657-6988
END/MOSHIER


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What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 8, 1:05 PM MDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE SHERIDAN WY
105 PM MDT SUN JUN 8 1986

....THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING AGAIN IN NORTHERN WYOMING...

AT 1 PM MDT...RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN NORTHERN
WYOMING ONCE AGAIN. AT THIS TIME THUNDERSTORMS ARE WIDELY SCATTERED
BUT WILL INCREASE IN NUMBER AND INTENSITY DURING THE AFTERNOON.

ANY OF THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...
HAIL... FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCAL FLOODING.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THAT AREA OF NORTHERN
WYOMING FROM THE BIG HORN MOUNTAINS EAST FOR TONIGHT.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE COVER...THEN
ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER SHOULD BE REPORTED TO YOUR NEAREST. LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

ZEGLIN
Special weather statement, Jun 8, 2:40 PM MDT, 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE SHERIDAN WY
240 PM MDT SUN JUN 8 1986

...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHERN WYOMING...

RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING IN COVERAGE ACROSS NORTHERN
WYOMING. MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WERE TO THE NORTH EAST AT ABOUT
25 TO 30 MPH.

AT 225 PM MDT AN OBSERVER AT BIG HORN REPORTED PEA SIZE HAIL.
THERE WERE TWO UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS. THE FIRST WAS
ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTH OF SHERIDAN WYOMING AT 200 PM MDT AND THE SECOND
WAS JUST SOUTH WEST OF BUFFALO WYOMING.

THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH THAT WAS ISSUED FOR TONIGHT FOR THE EASTERN
HALF OF WYOMING HAS BEEN CANCELED. HOWEVER...LOCAL FLOODING IS
POSSIBLE.

ANY OF THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE HAIL...HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY
WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE COVER...THEN
ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER SHOULD BE REPORTED TO YOUR NEAREST LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONgAL WEATHER SERVICE.

KRENZ
Special weather statement, Jun 8, 2:49 PM MDT, 46 minutes before
^GTFSPSBIL
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
 250 PM MDT SUN JUNE 8 1986

 AT 245PM MDT RADAR INDICATED A HEAVY THUNDERSTORM JUST NORTHEAST
OF ABSAROKEE MONTANA. HAIL 5/8 INCH IN DIAMETER HAS BEEN REPORTED
AT ABSAROKEE DURING THE PAST HALF HOUR.

NUMEROUS SMALL HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA ARE
INDICATED BY RADAR AT THIS TIME.

END

The office that day

Everything else NWS Billings, MT issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 7, 6:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Musselshell57 min
Jun 8, 4:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Rosebud, Treasure, Yellowstone56 min
Jun 8, 4:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.