Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 9, NWS Billings, MT
NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at Jul 19, 1996, 8:50 PM MDT for Rosebud County, Montana. It was in force for 25 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 19, 1996, 8:50 PM MDT (02:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 19, 1996, 9:15 PM MDT
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Billings, MT
- Area
- Whole counties
County Rosebud County, MT
The radar
The Billings radar (KBLX), 151 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:50 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 294 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -193 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1710 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 133 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 219 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBIL 200249 TORBIL MTC087-200315- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT 850 PM MDT FRI JUL 19 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 915 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA ...CENTRAL ROSEBUD COUNTY AT 845 PM BILLINGS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 10 MILES SOUTH OF FORSYTH OR 10 MILES NORTH OF COLSTRIP. THE THUNDERSTORM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS POTENTIAL TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE TOWN OF ROSEBUD BY 915 PM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. KWM
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.
NWS Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jul 19, 7:56 PM MDT, 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 7:56 PM MDT, 54 minutes before
TWO DISTINCT AREAS OF CONVECTION HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING LAST HOUR WITH INCREASED ALARMS WITH WEAK MESOS ON 88D. MORE FAVORABLE AREA IN TROF BETWEEN BILLINGS AND MILES CITY WHERE MOISTURE CONVERGENCE COMBINING WITH S/WV ENERGY TO ENHANCE CONVECTION. WOULD EXPECT SVR STORMS TO START DEVELOPING SOON. AGREE WITH SPC ON STATUS REPORT TO KEEP TOR WATCH GOING. MODIFYING KGGW 00Z RAOBS SHOWS VERY UNSTABLE AIR WITH NICE DRY PUNCH AT H7. SPEED SHEAR ALSO NOTED ABOVE BOUNDARY LAYER. OTHER AREA OF CONVECTION IN WEAK SFC CONVERGENCE AREA NEAR LEWISTOWN DOWN TO NEAR LVM. DO NOT EXPECT SVR WITH THIS SYSTEM. DO NOT SEE MUCH REASON TO ADJUST NUMBERS...BUT WILL ADJUST A FEW POPS TO CONFORM ON CURRENT TRENDS. SCARL ETT BIL 2110 055/082/055/082 MLS 4211 062/084/058/082 LVM 2110 049/078/047/080 4BQ 4211 060/085/056/083 HDN 3110 052/083/050/083 BKR 3211 064/085/056/083
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 7:03 PM MDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
MTZ007-009-200200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT 703 PM MDT FRI JUL 19 1996 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL MONTANA... ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR PORTIONS OF EXTREME EASTERN MONTANA... AT 700 PM BILLINGS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPING 50 MILES SOUTH OF BILLINGS NEAR THE TOWN OF WARREN IN CARBON COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL AFFECT: BIGHORN RECREATION AREA BY 730 PM FORT SMITH BY 800 PM BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING WILL OCCUR WITH THIS STORM. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RA$DIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION. KWM
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 8:16 PM MDT, 34 minutes before
MTZ007-200315- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT 816 PM MDT FRI JUL 19 1996 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTHERN SWEETGRASS AND WHEATLAND COUNTIES... AT 810 PM BILLINGS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHERN SWEETGRASS AND WHEATLAND COUNTIES. THE LINE OF STORMS STRETCHED FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF BIG TIMBER TO 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF HARLOWTON. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE STORMS. KWM
The office that day
Everything else NWS Billings, MT issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 8:00 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Rosebud, Treasure | 60 min |
| Jul 19, 9:20 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Custer, Rosebud | 40 min |
| Jul 19, 9:56 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Musselshell | 64 min |
| Jul 19, 10:08 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Custer | 52 min |
| Jul 19, 10:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Dawson | 64 min |
| Jul 19, 10:32 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Prairie | 58 min |
| Jul 19, 10:57 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Rosebud | 63 min |
| Jul 20, 12:44 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Dawson | 61 min |
| Jul 20, 1:33 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Custer, Fallon, Prairie | 57 min |
| Jul 20, 1:33 AM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BYZ | Wibaux | 57 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Montana, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.