Alert archive / Idaho / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 1, NWS Missoula, MT

May 16, 1997Idaho County, Idaho

NWS Missoula, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1997, 2:58 AM PDT for Idaho County, Idaho. It was in force for 62 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
May 16, 1997, 2:58 AM PDT (09:58 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1997, 4:00 AM PDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Missoula, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Idaho County, ID

The radar

The Missoula radar (KMSX), 175 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:59 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

Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 218 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, Spokane, WA at 00:00Z on 1997-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 287 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Spokane, WA at 00:00Z on 1997-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 34 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
287 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2136 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMSO 161001 RRA
SVRMSO
IDC049-161100-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
358 AM MDT (258 AM PDT) FRI MAY 16 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 AM MDT (400 AM PDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL IDAHO
 
   ...IDAHO COUNTY
 
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IS APPROACHING RED RIVER IDAHO AND ELK CITY IDAHO
THIS XSTORM MAY CONTAIN LARGE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS. IT SHOULD BE MOVING
THROUGH THESE LOCATIONS DURING THE NEXT HOUR.

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 May 16, 1:03 AM PDT, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 1:03 AM PDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
200 AM MDT FRI MAY 16 1997

MONTANA...

FLOOD WARNINGS...
 - ROCK CREEK...MISSOULA AND GRANITE COUNTIES
 - FISHER AND YAAK RIVERS...LINCOLN COUNTY
 - FLATHEAD RIVER AT COLUMBIA FALLS AND SOUTH FORK RIVER UPSTREAM
   FROM HUNGRY HORSE RESERVOIR...FLATHEAD COUNTY
 - BITTERROOT RIVER...MISSOULA AND RAVALLI COUNTIES
 - CLARK FORK RIVER FROM MILLTOWN DAM THROUGH MISSOULA...MISSOULA
   COUNTY
 - ST. REGIS RIVER AT ST. REGIS...MINERAL COUNTY

SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNINGS...

 - ASHLEY CREEK...LITTLE BITTERROOT AND STILLWATER RIVERS...FLATHEAD
   COUNTY
 - SWAN RIVER...LAKE AND FLATHEAD COUNTY
 - ALL SANDERS COUNTY
 - CLEARWATER RIVER...LOLO CREEK AND NINE MILE CREEK...MISSOULA
   COUNTY

FLOOD WATCHES...

 - NORTH FORK AND MIDDLE FORK FLATHEAD RIVERS...FLATHEAD COUNTY
 - CLARK FORK RIVER...MINERAL COUNTY
 - BLACKFOOT RIVER NEAR BONNER...MISSOULA COUNTY
 - CLARK FORK RIVER BELOW MISSOULA...MISSOULA COUNTY

SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORIES...

 - LINCOLN...FLATHEAD...LAKE...MISSOULA AND MINERAL COUNTIES.

IDAHO...

 FLOOD WATCHES...

 - CLEARWATER RIVER AT OROFINO...CLEARWATER COUNTY

DISCUSSION...00Z ETA OFF TO A REASONABLY GOOD START WITH PRIMARY
FEATURES. 5H AXIS OVER PANHANDLE/WESTERN MONTANA WITH DEEPEST
MOISTURE LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN IDAHO 100-250K LAYER AS INDICATED BY
WV AND OBSERVATION. ETA KEEPS THIS TROPICAL MOISTURE AVAILABLE FOR
CONVECTION TODAY. SCATTERED AFTERNOON TSTM AND SHOWERS FAVORED OVER
WEST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST INTO THE EVENING. ANOTHER SHOT OF TROPICAL
MOISTURE ARRIVES DURING THE MORNING SATURDAY. A RATHER VIGOROUS S/W
DEEPENS OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA TODAY AND RIDES OVER CENTRAL ALBERTA
BUT SECONDARY SHOT COULD MAKE FOR AN INTERESTING WEATHER DAY
ESPECIALLY AS DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE IN PLACE OVER SOUTHERN ZONES.
ALTHOUGH JET DYNAMICS IS WEAK...IT APPEARS TO BE IN PHASE WITH MAX
HEATING. AVN IDENTIFIES THIS MOISTURE BUT MOVES IT SOUTH OF THE
FORECAST AREA. PREFER ETA CONSIDERING TRAJECTORY OF NORTHWARD MOVING
MOISTURE. WILL UP POPS CONSIDERABLY FOR SATURDAY.

STOLL

LIB .. 080 046/069 ... 33224
FCA BT 078 047/067 042 33224
POL .. 082 051/070 ... 33225
MSO BT 080 048/071 043 33335
HMM .. 084 049/074 ... 33335
BTM .. 078 044/066 ... 33335
S80 .. 084 051/076 ... 33324
P69 .. 082 056/075 ... 33335
SMN .. 081 043/079 ... 33325

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Idaho, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.