Alert archive / Montana / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Great Falls, MT

August 20, 1990Cascade County, Chouteau County, Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this flash flood warning at Aug 20, 1990, 5:13 PM MDT for Cascade County, Chouteau County, Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 62 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 20, 1990, 5:13 PM MDT (23:13 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 1990, 6:15 PM MDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cascade County, MT, Chouteau County, MT, Judith Basin 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, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 8 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 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 12:00Z on 1990-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 80 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
3639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 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 KGTF 202314
FFWGTF
MTC013-015-045-210015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
513 PM MDT MON AUG 20 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...S...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA
 
   ...NORTHEASTERN CASCADE COUNTY...SOUTHWESTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTY
   ...NORTHERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY
 
VERY HEAVY RAIN HAS BEEN REPORTED AT BELT MONTANA WHICH HAS BROUGHT
TRAFFIC TO A STANDSTILL.
 
  RADAR SHOWS A BAND OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM
CENTRAL CASCADE COUNTY SOUTHWEST TO WESTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAIN AND ARE MOVING NORTH AT 25 MILES
AN HOUR. PERSONS IN THE WARNING AREA SHOULD BE ALERT TO SMALL STREAM F
AS WELL AS FLOODING OF STREETS AND ROADWAYS.
 
  THIS WARNING ESPECIALLY INCLUDES THE HIGHWOOD MOUNTAINS. GROUND IS
ALREADY SATURATED SO THE HEAVY RAIN WILL CAUSE A LOT OF RUNOFF.
STREAMS MAY RISE QUICKLY.
 
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN
CASCADE COUNTY UNTIL 530 PM. HAIL ONE INCH IN DIAMETER WAS REPORTED AT
BELT.
 
DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY.  THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO
CROSS SAFELY.  VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE
ABANDONED QUICKLY.  MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN 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 WAdTER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 19, 8:36 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningTFXFergus, Judith Basin2 hr
Aug 19, 8:36 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningTFXTeton2 hr
Aug 19, 8:36 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningTFXCascade69 min
Aug 20, 4:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade63 min
Aug 20, 4:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade60 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.