Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Billings, MT

May 31, 1990Rosebud County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at May 31, 1990, 10:28 PM MDT for Rosebud County, Montana. It was in force for 32 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 31, 1990, 10:28 PM MDT (04:28 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 1990, 11:00 PM MDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS Billings, MT
Area: Whole counties

County Rosebud 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

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2900 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -13 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 010428
TORBIL
MTC087-010500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
1028 PM MDT THU MAY 31 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE STATE OF MONTANA
      EASTERN ROSEBUD...INCLUDING THE CITY OF FORSYTH

AT 1015 PM MDT THE FORSYTH SHERIFF OFFICE REPORTED A FUNNEL
CLOUD JUST NORTH OF FORSYTH MONTANA MOVING EAST. THE BILLINGS
RADAR SHOWS A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN THAT AREA MOVING TO THE
EAST-NORTHEAST AT 25 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 SEVERE WEATHER IS SIGHTED PLEASE NOTIFY> THE NEAREST LAW
 ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AS SOON AS IT IS SAFE.

 END/MOSHIER

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 31, 5:00 PM MDT, 5 hours 28 minutes before

MTZ006-007-008-009-WYZ002-003-004-005-010200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
500 PM MDT THU MAY 31 1990

AT 430 PM MDT THIS THURSDAY EVENING THE BILLINGS RADAR SHOWED
MANY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN CENTRAL MONTANA
AND ACROSS NORTHERN WYOMING.

THE STRONGEST STORMS AT THIS TIME WERE IN SOUTHEAST WHEATLAND
COUNTY ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HARLOWTON AND MOVING TO THE
NORTH-NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

PEOPLE IN CENTRAL MONTANA CAN EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS UNTIL LATE TONIGHT. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL
CONTAIN BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL.

THESE AREAS OF BRIEF HEAVY RAIN WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR SOME
TRAVELERS WITH A FEW PLACES HAVING WATER RUNNING OVER THE ROAD.
CAMPERS...FISHERMEN AND OTHERS ALONG SMALL STREAMS SHOULD BE
ALERT FOR POSSIBLE PROBLEMS.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE STORMS
THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. IF WARNINGS DO BECOME NECESSARY THEY WILL
BE ISSUED IMMEDIATELY.

END/MOSHIER

Local storm report, May 31, 8:48 PM MDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS, MT
847 PM MDT THU MAY 31 1990

TIME             EVENT
0630 PM MDT      GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL IN WEST BILLINGS. NO DAMAGE
                 REPORTED.
635 PM           3/4 INCH HAIL IN NORTHWEST BILLINGS. NO DAMAGE
                 REPORTED.
635 PM           3/4 INCH HAIL AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. NORTH BILLINGS.
640 PM           MOSTLY SMALL HAIL WITH A FEW UP TO 1". DID NOT
                 COVER THE GROUND.
700 PM           23 MILES NORTH OF BILLINGS BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...
                 .6 OF AN INCH IN 20 MINUTES.
720 PM           5 MILES SOUTH OF ROUNDUP MONTANA... HEAVY RAIN...
                 GUSTY WINDS AND NO HAIL.
730 PM           5 MILES NORTH OF THE YELLOWSTONE COUNTY LINE IN
                 MUSSELSHELL COUNTY...HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND
                 NO STRONG WINDS.

END/STEINMAN...MOSHIER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 6:46 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Musselshell, Yellowstone	59 min
May 31, 6:47 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Musselshell	58 min
May 31, 9:13 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Rosebud, Treasure	92 min

Nearby

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