Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Watches in 1998
Tornado Watch 439
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 26, 1998, 5:00 PM MDT for 20 counties in Montana. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 26, 1998, 5:00 PM MDT (23:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 26, 1998, 11:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Big Horn County, MT, Blaine County, MT, Carbon County, MT, Chouteau County, MT, Fergus County, MT, Garfield County, MT, Golden Valley County, MT, Hill County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT, Liberty County, MT, Musselshell County, MT, Petroleum County, MT, Phillips County, MT, Powder River County, MT, Rosebud County, MT, Stillwater County, MT, Toole County, MT, Treasure County, MT, Wheatland County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT
The radar
The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 162 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:03 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 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 164 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -328 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1671 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 10 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
093 WWUS9 KMKC 262238 SEL9 MKC WW 262238 MTZ000-270500- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 439 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 438 PM MDT TUE MAY 26 1998 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MONTANA EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 500 PM UNTIL 1100 PM MDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 105 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF HAVRE MONTANA TO 90 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST 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... CONTINUE...WW 430...WW 431...WW 432...WW 433...WW 434...WW 435...WW 436...WW 437...WW 438... DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING SUPERCELLS...LIKELY TO SPREAD NWD THROUGH WATCH AREA THIS EVENING AHEAD OF STRONG SHORT WAVE TROF EJECTING NWD FROM ID/WY. BOUNDARY LAYER MOSITURE CONTENT SOMEWHAT MARGINAL FOR LONG-LIVED TORNADOES /MIXED LAYER DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 40/...BUT STRENGTH/DEGREE OF LOW-LEVEL VEERING WILL LIKELY REMAIN QUITE FAVORABLE AS SURFACE LOW MOVES EWD INTO WATCH REGION. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 480. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 18030. ...CORFIDI 490,1074 445,1045 445,1091 490,1122
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2:45 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Beaverhead, Broadwater, Cascade, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Gallatin and 15 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
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.