Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 71, NWS Great Falls, MT

August 28, 1997Cascade County, Chouteau County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 28, 1997, 6:50 PM MDT for Cascade County, Chouteau County, Montana. It was in force for 40 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
Aug 28, 1997, 6:50 PM MDT (00:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 28, 1997, 7:30 PM MDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cascade County, MT, Chouteau County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:51 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

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 26 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 00:00Z on 1997-08-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 52 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 1997-08-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
52 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3129 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
106 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.

230 
WUUS1 KGTF 290054 RRA
SVRGTF
MTC013-015-290130-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
650 PM MDT THU AUG 28 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH MONTANA
 
   ...NORTHEASTERN CASCADE COUNTY
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA
 
   ...SOUTHWESTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTY
 
AT 645 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING ACROSS
NORTHEAST CASCADE COUNTY. THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF LARGE HAIL...GUSTY
WINDS AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. IT WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40
MPH AND SHOULD MOVE THROUGH BLACK EAGLE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES AND
REACH SOUTHWEST CHOUTEAU COUNTY WITHIN THE 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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 28, 3:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 50 minutes before
MTZALL-290500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT THU AUG 28 1997

...LABOR DAY WEEKEND FORECAST FOR MONTANA...

.SUNDAY AND LABOR DAY...SCATTERED...MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE 40S WEST TO THE 50S EAST. HIGHS
IN THE 70S AND LOWER 80S WEST...85 TO 95 EAST.
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 3:06 PM MDT, 3 hours 44 minutes before
MTZALL-290500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT THU AUG 28 1997

...LABOR DAY WEEKEND FORECAST FOR MONTANA...

.SUNDAY AND LABOR DAY...SCATTERED...MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE 40S WEST TO THE 50S EAST. HIGHS
IN THE 70S AND LOWER 80S WEST...85 TO 95 EAST.
Local storm report, Aug 28, 3:55 PM MDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
350 PM MDT THU AUG 28 1997

TIME(MDT)  ......CITY LOCATION...... MT   ...EVENT.............
DATE(MDT)  ......COUNTY LOCATION....      ...REMARKS...........

530 PM     WINDAM                    MT   1.00 INCH HAIL
08/27/97   JUDITH BASIN
Local storm report, Aug 28, 3:56 PM MDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION FOR LOCATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
356 PM MDT THU AUG 28 1997

TIME(MDT)  ......CITY LOCATION...... MT   ...EVENT.............
DATE(MDT)  ......COUNTY LOCATION....      ...REMARKS...........

530 PM     WINDHAM                    MT   1.00 INCH HAIL
08/27/97   JUDITH BASIN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 28, 8:06 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin, Meagher54 min
Aug 28, 9:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 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.