Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 542

June 29, 199717 counties in Montana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 29, 1997, 7:15 PM MDT for 17 counties in Montana. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 29, 1997, 7:15 PM MDT (01:15 UTC)
Expired
Jun 30, 1997, 1:00 AM MDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Carter County, MT, Custer County, MT, Daniels County, MT, Dawson County, MT, Fallon County, MT, Garfield County, MT, McCone County, MT, Phillips County, MT, Powder River County, MT, Prairie County, MT, Richland County, MT, Roosevelt County, MT, Rosebud County, MT, Sheridan County, MT, Treasure County, MT, Valley County, MT, Wibaux County, MT

The radar

The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:17 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.

Warnings issued inside it

10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 29, 7:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWPhillips, Valley57 min
Jun 29, 7:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCuster, Powder River60 min
Jun 29, 7:52 PM MDTTornado WarningBYZCuster, Rosebud48 min
Jun 29, 8:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCuster, Powder River59 min
Jun 29, 8:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWValley61 min
Jun 29, 9:08 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter, Custer, Fallon62 min
Jun 29, 11:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZPowder River60 min
Jun 29, 11:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZPowder River61 min
Jun 29, 11:55 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter60 min
Jun 30, 12:56 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter44 min

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 102 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, Glasgow Intl Airport, MT at 00:00Z on 1997-06-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 552 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Glasgow Intl Airport, MT at 00:00Z on 1997-06-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
552 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2316 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

954 
WWUS9 KMKC 300034
SEL2  
MKC WW 300034
MTZ000-300700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 542
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
634 PM MDT SUN JUN 29 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EASTERN MONTANA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 715 PM UNTIL
100 AM MDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 1/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES NORTH OF GLASGOW MONTANA TO 10 MILES SOUTH
SOUTHEAST OF BROADUS MONTANA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 538.  WATCH NUMBER 538 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 715 PM
MDT.  CONTINUE...WW 539...WW 540...WW 541...

DISCUSSION...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS...SOME EXHIBITING SUPERCELL
CHARACTERISITICS CONTINUE MOVING NE ACROSS MONTANA. SEVERE THREAT
SHOULD INCREASE ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN MONTANA DURING THE
EVENING AS SHORTWAVE CROSSES THE AREA.



AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 1/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25030.


...VESCIO

490,1043 451,1032 451,1071 490,1083

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Montana, 1997Every tornado watch 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.