Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Missoula, MT

June 15, 1996Missoula County, Montana

NWS Missoula, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 15, 1996, 9:10 PM MDT for Missoula County, Montana. It was in force for 50 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jun 15, 1996, 9:10 PM MDT (03:10 UTC)
Expired: Jun 15, 1996, 10:00 PM MDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Missoula, MT
Area: Whole counties

County Missoula County, MT

The radar

The Missoula radar (KMSX), 5 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:11 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 15, 9:10 PM MDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Lolo, MT
Jun 15, 9:11 PM MDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Missoula, MT

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 201 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: 2978 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 81 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 KMSO 160311
SVRMSO
MTC063-160400-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
910 PM MDT SAT JUN 15 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...                     ...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL MONTANA
 
   ...SOUTHERN MISSOULA COUNTY
 
MISSOULA DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN THE VICINITY
OF LOLO. THE STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. REPORTS FROM SPOTTERS IN
LOLO AND SOUTH MISSOULA INDICATE WIND GUSTS OF 55 TO 60 MPH ARE
OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. THE STORM WILL APPROACH THE TOWNS OF CLINTON
AND POTOMAC WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUILCKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
 
SULLIVAN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 15, 8:11 PM MDT, 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 8:11 PM MDT, 59 minutes before

...CORRECTION TO 4TH PERIOD POPS...

BUSY NIGHT...SO RUNNING A LITTLE LATE. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
IDAHO AND CLEARWATER COUNTIES MOVING NORTHEAST TOWARD MT ZONE 2.
POSSIBLE SVR T-STORM NOW APPROACHING NORTH RAVALLI CO. FOR THE MOST
PART...TONIGHTS ACTIVITY PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND SMALL
HAIL. STORMS DEVELOPED NEAR GOOD AREA OF MOISTURE CONVERGENCE EVIDENT
ON 15Z MESO-ETA WITH SOME HELP FROM WEAK SHORTWAVE OVER EASTERN WA.
THIS WAVE WILL MOVE INTO AREA TONIGHT TO KEEP ACTIVITY GOING MT ZONE
2...AND WILL INTERACT WITH LEFTOVER MOISTURE TO GENERATE SOME SHOWERS
OVER ZONE 1. WILL ADJUST POPS BASED ON CURRENT ACTIVITY OVER IDAHO.
THREAT OF SVR WX SHOULD DIE DOWN OVER NEXT FEW HOURS WITH SOME
NOCTURNAL STABILIZATION. TEMPS LOOK IN THE BALLPARK. FOCUS SHIFTS TO
SOUTH FOR SUNDAY AS MORE STABLE AIR PUSHES INTO NW MT AND NORTH
ID...THEN BACK NORTH FOR MON AS UPPER LOW PUSHES INTO PAC NW.
SULLIVAN

FCA 3126 048/080/048/075
LIB 21\26 049/083/049/076
POL 4124 048/080/050/074
MSO 5224 051/081/052/077
HMM 5324 051/083/053/079
FN/11

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 15, 6:22 PM MDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before

IDZ011-160315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
615 PM MDT ( 515 PM PDT) SAT JUN 15 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO IDAHO COUNTY...

AT 515 PM PDT...A WEATHER SPOTTER IN COTTONWOOD OF IDAHO COUNTY
REPORTED GUSTY NORTH WINDS UP TO 30 MPH WITH A THUNDERSTORM
APPROACHING THE AREA FROM THE SOUTH. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN.

IDAHO COUNTY REMAINS IN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THIS EVENING.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A THUNDERSTORM...SEEK SHELTER UNTIL THE
STORM HAS PASSED. REMEMBER THUNDERSTORMS DO PRODUCE DEADLY LIGHTNING.
STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER
UPDATES TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

FELSCH

Special weather statement, Jun 15, 7:17 PM MDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before

IDZ011-160315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
715 PM MDT ( 615 PM PDT) SAT JUN 15 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH IDAHO COUNTY...

AT 615 PM PDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10
MILES NORTHWEST OF ELK CITY...MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. ITS
CURRENT PATH WILL TAKE IT THROUGH THE SELWAY RIVER BASIN. THIS STORM
HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN.

IDAHO COUNTY REMAINS IN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THIS EVENING.
CAMPERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT CONTINUING THIS
EVENING.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A THUNDERSTORM...SEEK SHELTER UNTIL THE
STORM HAS PASSED. REMEMBER THUNDERST\ORMS DO PRODUCE DEADLY LIGHTNING.
STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER
UPDATES TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

FELSCH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 15, 9:43 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Lake, Missoula	47 min
Jun 16, 4:24 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Ravalli	51 min
Jun 16, 5:00 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Ravalli	75 min
Jun 16, 5:17 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Ravalli	58 min
Jun 16, 5:20 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Ravalli	55 min
Jun 16, 5:44 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Missoula	46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 1996 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.