Alert archive / Montana / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Billings, MT

August 19, 1990Golden Valley County, Musselshell County, Wheatland County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this flash flood warning at Aug 19, 1990, 8:50 PM MDT for Golden Valley County, Musselshell County, Wheatland County, Montana. It was in force for 115 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 19, 1990, 8:50 PM MDT (02:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 19, 1990, 10:45 PM MDT
In force
115 min
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

Counties Golden Valley County, MT, Musselshell County, MT, Wheatland 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 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 158 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 00:00Z on 1990-08-20Temperature 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 00:00Z on 1990-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 132 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
3601 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
201 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 200250
FFWBIL
MTC037-065-107-200445-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
850 PM MDT SUN AUG 19 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A URBAN AND SMALL 
STREAM FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN 
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

   IN THE STATE OF MONTANA
      GOLDEN VALLEY...MUSSELSHELL...WHEATLAND...INCLUDING THE 
      CITY OF HARLOWTON...INCLUDING THE CITY OF ROUNDUP...INCLUDING 
      THE CITY OF RYEGATE

AT 830PM MDT RADAR SHOWED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WHEATLAND...
GOLDEN VALLEY AND MUSSELSHELL COUNTIES OF MONTANA. THESE STORMS ARE
MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH. THE SHERRIFF AT HARLOWTON MT. REPORTED
WATER ON HIGHWAYS AND SMALL CREEKS OUT OF BANKS. THE SHERRIFF AT
ROUNDUP MT. REPORTED HEAVY RAIN AT GOLDEN CREEK.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS IMMINENT.
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR I;N AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO
CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.
NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL ONE...ON FOOT.
TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

 END/FORBES

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, Aug 19, 5:17 PM MDT, 3 hours 33 minutes before
MTZ005-006-007-008-009-WYZ001-002-003-004-005-006-200030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
 505 PM MDT SUN AUG 19 1990

 AT 4 30 PM RADAR SHOWED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS IN SWEET GRASS
AND STILLWARER COUNTIES OF SOUTHCENTRAL MONTANA. HEAVY RAIN AND
MARBLE SIZED HAIL WERE REPORTED IN THE CITY OF ABSAROKEE. THESE
STORMS ARE MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN SOUTHCENTARAL MONTANA THIS EVENING.

END/FORBES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 19, 10:54 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBYZMusselshell, Yellowstone111 min
Aug 20, 12:53 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBYZGolden Valley, Musselshell2 hr
Aug 20, 3:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZStillwater56 min
Aug 20, 4:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Stillwater, Yellowstone58 min
Aug 20, 4:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell58 min
Aug 20, 5:12 PM MDTTornado WarningBYZYellowstone33 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Montana, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

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.