Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Billings, MT

May 10, 2000Golden Valley County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 10, 2000, 6:08 PM MDT for Golden Valley County, Montana. It was in force for 37 min. 3 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
May 10, 2000, 6:08 PM MDT (00:08 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 2000, 6:45 PM MDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Golden Valley County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:09 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 10, 6:22 PM MDTHail 1Ryegate, MT
May 10, 6:29 PM MDTHail 0.88Ryegate, MT
May 10, 6:35 PM MDTHail 0.88Ryegate, 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

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 282 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 2000-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 5 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, Glasgow Intl Airport, MT at 00:00Z on 2000-05-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 10 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
5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2533 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
62 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.

714 
WUUS55 KBYZ 110009
SVRBIL
MTC037-110045-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
608 PM MDT WED MAY 10 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL GOLDEN VALLEY COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 645 PM MDT

* AT 608 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE HAIL 13 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  RYEGATE...OR ABOUT 23 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HARLOWTON...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
   RYEGATE BY 630 PM MDT.

VERY LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

$$
STROBIN/KUHL

LAT...LON 4623 10941 4624 10937 4636 10902 4653 10926

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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 10, 1:52 PM MDT, 4 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 10, 1:52 PM MDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
152 PM MDT WED MAY 10 2000

.THU AND FRI...

ALREADY MOIST PATTERN BECOMING WET NEXT 24 HOURS AS STRONG DYNAMICS
MOVES INTO FORECAST AREA. BROAD UPPER LOW ROTATING SLOWLY INTO
WASHINGTON AND OREGON PROGGED TO REACH WESTERN MONTANA BY 12Z AND
BEGIN TO SPLIT OVER THE STATE DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. FAVOR SOLUTION
OF AVN/RUC/NGM AS ETA SEEMS TO BE HAVING TROUBLE DEPICTING THE CURRENT
SURFACE PATTERN. 15Z RUC SHOWED SURFACE WAVE DEVELOPING AROUND
YELLOWSTONE PARK WHILE THE ETA PROGRESSED THIS FEATURE FURTHER EAST
OVER SOUTHEAST MONTANA. AVN WAS IN THE MIDDLE...AND WITH CURRENT
SURFACE WINDS EAST AT KLVM...BELIEVE THE FURTHER WEST SOLUTIONS ARE
FAVORED. FIRST HAVE TO LOOK AT CONVECTIVE THREAT THIS AFTERNOON. RUC
INDICATES CAPES OF 600 TO 1200 ACROSS AREA WITH DECENT STRAIGHTLINE
HODOGRAPHS. EXPECT TO SEE SOME ORGANIZATION TO THE CELLS WITH SOME
SMALL HAIL POSSIBLE WITH WET BULB ZERO LEVELS AROUND 8000 FEET. ALSO
SOME WIND GUST POTENTIAL...ESPECIALLY EAST WITH INVERTED V SOUNDINGS.
FOR TONIGHT LEFT EXIT REGION OF A 130 KT JET PUSHES INTO REGION AS
SHORTWAVE ROTATES NEGATIVELY INTO MONTANA. EXPECT RAIN TO DEVELOP WITH
EMBEDDED HEAVIER SHOWERS DUE TO CONTINUED STEEP LAPSE RATES. MAIN
QUESTION FOR TONIGHT BECOMES SNOW FOR FAVORED UPSLOPE REGIONS OVER THE
BEARTOOTHS AND ABSAROKAS. WILL KEEP SNOW LEVELS AT THE 5000 FOOT LEVEL
WITH WARM ENOUGH GROUND TO KEEP SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS FROM
OCCURING...BUT WOULD EXPECT A FEW 2 TO 4 INCH REPORTS FROM STATIONS AT
6000 FEET. FOR THURSDAY...PRECIPITATION COVERAGE SHOULD BE
DECREASING THURSDAY MORNING BUT 500 MB TEMPS AT -28 C SHOULD ALLOW
SHOWERS TO EASILY DEVELOP THROUGH THE DAY. WILL ALSO BE WATCHING
WINDS AS DEEPENING LOW OVER DAKOTAS HELPS TIGHTEN SURFACE
GRADIENT. PATTERN REMAINS UNSTABLE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY BUT
LESS FORCING THUS SHOWERS SHOULD REMAIN IN SCATTERED CATEGORIES. BORSUM

.SAT...SUN...AND MON...

LATEST MEDIUM RANGE MODELS IN AGREEMENT WITH UPPER LOW CUTTING OFF
NEAR 130W ON SATURDAY AND GRADUALLY DRIFTING TO 125W BY MONDAY. THIS
MORNINGS 72 HOUR AVN RUN ALSO FALLING IN LINE WITH THIS SCENARIO.
WITH CUTOFF SOUTH OF 40N AND NEAR 125W FOR MUCH OF THE WEEKEND...THIS
WILL LEAVE FORECAST AREA UNDER GENERAL SOUTHWEST FLOW AS RIDGE BUILDS
INTO THE AREA. WILL TREND AWAY FROM THE SHOWERS FOR EACH DAY AND GO
TOWARDS MORE PARTLY CLOUDY. WILL GRADUALLY WARM TEMPERATURES THROUGH
THE PERIOD AS WELL. MEIER

BIL RWBBB 040/052 041/060 042/068 042/070 045/070 599634 53
LVM RWBBB 036/049 040/062 041/067 041/069 041/071 599634 53
HDN RWBBB 039/053 040/064 041/070 041/072 043/072 599634 53
MLS RWBBB 044/054 044/062 045/070 045/070 045/070 598734 53
4BQ RWBBB 043/053 043/063 044/068 044/070 044/070 598734 53
BHK RWBBB 043/053 044/064 045/066 045/069 045/069 598734 53
SHR RWBBB 040/052 041/063 042/069 042/072 042/072 599634 53

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 10, 6:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Musselshell56 min
May 10, 9:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZRosebud60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2000Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2000

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.