Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 5, NWS Billings, MT

May 29, 2000Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 29, 2000, 12:06 AM MDT for Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Montana. It was in force for 54 min. 1 report 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 29, 2000, 12:06 AM MDT (06:06 UTC)
Expired: May 29, 2000, 1:00 AM MDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS Billings, MT
Area: Whole counties

Counties Musselshell County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:05 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 29, 1:05 AM MDT	Hail 0.75	Pompeys Pillar, 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, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 221 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 3203 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 41 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.

852 
WUUS55 KBYZ 290606
SVRBIL
MTC065-111-290700-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
1206 AM MDT MON MAY 29 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN MUSSELSHELL COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA
  CENTRAL YELLOWSTONE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 100 AM MDT

* AT 1206 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH DAMAGING WINDS 16 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  SHEPHERD...OR ABOUT 18 MILES NORTH OF BILLINGS...MOVING EAST AT 40
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
   SHEPHERD BY 1225 AM MDT.
   BALLANTINE...WORDEN BY 1240 AM MDT.
   POMPEYS PILLAR BY 1255 AM MDT.

$$

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 28, 9:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 28, 9:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 6 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
900 PM MDT SUN MAY 28 2000

.MON AND TUE...
WEAK CONVECTION CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL SECTIONS
OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH STRONGER STORMS DEVELOPING OVER EXTREME
NORTHEAST WYOMING. WITH JET CONTINUING TO APPROACHING STATE EXPECT
SCATTERED SHOWER ACTIVITY ALL NIGHT BUT THUNDER SHOULD BE DONE BY
MIDNIGHT. NO UPDATES. BORSUM

.WED...THU...AND FRI...

THE LAST THREE RUNS OF THE MRF-BASED OBJECTIVE GUIDANCE TREND POPS
(PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION) UPWARD FOR WEDNESDAY. THE 72 HOUR PANEL
(VALID 12Z WED) SHOWS GOOD AGREEMENT WITH LAST NIGHT/S MRF AND
YESTERDAY/S ECMWF WITH REGARD TO POSITIONING AN UPPER LOW NEAR IDAHO AT
THIS TIME. THE LOW FILLS THURSDAY...BUT MODERATE UPPER TROUGHING REMAINS
SO WILL CONTINUE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. THE UPPER PATTERN FLATTENS FRIDAY
PER THE ECMWF SOLUTION. THE MRF IS MORE AMPLIFIED THAN THE ECMWF AND
DEVELOPS WEAK UPPER RIDGING. FRIDAY LOOK TO BE THE DRIEST DAY IN THE
EXTENDED. WILL NOT STRAY FAR FROM CLIMATOLOGY...SO FOR FRIDAY WILL SAY
MAINLY DRY. DECIDED TO TRIM BACK DAY 3 MAX TEMPS. COORD WITH GREAT FALLS
ON THIS. BASED ON THE PRESENCE OF THE UPPER LOW...UPSLOPING...MRF
OBJECTIVE GUIDANCE TEMP TRENDS...WENT AHEAD AND TRIMMED BACK DAY 3 MAX
TEMPS. CANEPA

BIL EWTWB 048/070 046/064 046/065 044/067 045/072 593224 64
LVM EWTWB 048/069 045/063 046/063 041/064 043/071 593334 64
HDN EWTWB 046/072 044/066 043/065 042/068 042/074 593224 64
MLS BWTWB 052/073 050/070 047/064 045/069 044/071 592223 64
4BQ BWTWB 051/074 049/071 046/064 044/068 044/070 592223 64
BHK BETWB 055/075 049/072 046/064 044/068 045/070 592222 64
SHR BETWB 048/071 046/070 044/067 041/066 044/069 592222 64

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 29, 1:01 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Big Horn, Rosebud, Treasure, Yellowstone	59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2000 Every 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.