Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Great Falls, MT

June 4, 1997Pondera County, Teton County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 4, 1997, 6:11 PM MDT for Pondera County, Teton County, Montana. It was in force for 64 min. 4 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 4, 1997, 6:11 PM MDT (00:11 UTC)
Expired
Jun 4, 1997, 7:15 PM MDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pondera County, MT, Teton County, MT

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 4, 6:42 PM MDTHail 0.75Choteau, MT
Jun 4, 6:55 PM MDTHail 0.75Choteau, MT
Jun 4, 6:57 PM MDTHail 1.25Choteau, MT
Jun 4, 7:25 PM MDTHail 0.75Dutton, 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

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 138 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 1997-06-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 799 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 1997-06-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 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
799 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-108 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2114 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

279 
WUUS1 KGTF 050017 RRA
SVRGTF
MTC073-099-050115-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
611 PM MDT WED JUN 4 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH MONTANA
 
   ...CENTRAL PONDERA COUNTY...WESTERN TETON COUNTY
 
AT 610PM MST RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF
CHOTEAU WITH ANOTHER NEAR AUGUSTA...MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF LARGE HAIL. DAMAGING WINDS WERE ALSO
LIKELY. THE NORTHERN STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE VALIER AREA IN THE NEXT
O 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 4, 6:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLewis and Clark68 min
Jun 4, 7:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXPondera, Teton, Toole61 min
Jun 4, 7:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau37 min
Jun 4, 8:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXToole44 min
Jun 4, 8:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade54 min
Jun 5, 12:15 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin45 min
Jun 5, 3:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Meagher56 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.