Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Billings, MT

May 24, 1990Carbon County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at May 24, 1990, 3:34 PM MDT for Carbon County, Montana. It was in force for 56 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 24, 1990, 3:34 PM MDT (21:34 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 1990, 4:30 PM MDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Carbon 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

Lander/Hunt Fiel, WY (KLND), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 269 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, Lander/Hunt Fiel, WY at 12:00Z on 1990-05-24Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lander/Hunt Fiel, WY at 12:00Z on 1990-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -18 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2197 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
26 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 242134
TORBIL
MTC009-242230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
334 PM MDT THU MAY 24 1990

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

   IN THE STATE OF MONTANA
      CARBON

AT 315 PM MDT FOREST SERVICE PERSONNEL REPORTED A TORNADO ON
THE GROUND BETWEEN BRIDGER AND WARREN MONTANA. THE TORNADO IS
MOVING TO THE NORTH AT 30 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...TAKE SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH...
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

 END/NELSON

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, May 24, 12:35 PM MDT, 2 hours 59 minutes before
WYZ003-004-005-242030

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHERIDAN WY
1240 PM MDT THU MAY 24 1990

...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING...

AT 1230 PM MDT RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE ABOUT 20
MILES SOUTHWEST OF BUFFALO WYOMING.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 15 TO 20 MILES AN
HOUR. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL HAVE STRONG GUST-Y WIND...BRIEF
HEAVY RAIN AND SOME HAIL.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APROACHES GO TO A SAFE PLACE.

ZEGLIN
Special weather statement, May 24, 1:29 PM MDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before
WYZ005-242130

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHERIDAN WY
135 PM MDT THU MAY 24 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING...

AT 110 PM MDT THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON THE PUBLIC REPORTED PEA SIZE
HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN IN STORY WYOMING SOME 12 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST
OF SHERIDAN WYOMING. RADAR SHOWED THIS STORM MOVING NORTHEAST AT
ABOUT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD CONTINUE IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING THE REST OF
THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...BREIF HEAVY RAIN AND SOME HAIL.

A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES TO BE IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EASTERN
WYOMING EAST OF SHERIDAN COUNTY.

IF THREATENING WEATHER AwPPROACHES GO TO A SAFE PLACE.

ZEGLIN
Special weather statement, May 24, 2:32 PM MDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
WYZ005-242230

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHERIDAN WY
235 PM MDT THU MAY 24 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING...

AT 220 PM MDT THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON THE PUBLIC REPORTED MARBLE SIZE
HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN AT LAKE DE SMET 25 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF
SHERIDAN WYOMING. RADAR SHOWED THIS STORM MOVING NORTHEAST AT ABOUT
20 MILES AN HOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD CONTINUE IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING THE REST OF
THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE STRONG
GUSTY WINDS...BREIF HEAVY RAIN AND SOME HAIL.

A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES TO BE IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF EASTERN
WYOMING EAST OF SHERIDAN COUNTY UNTIL 7 PM MDT.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES GO TO A SAFE PLACE.

ZEGLIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 4:12 PM MDTTornado WarningBYZGolden Valley, Wheatland63 min
May 24, 5:04 PM MDTTornado WarningBYZYellowstone56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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.