Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 73, NWS Billings, MT

July 9, 2000Custer County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 2000, 6:30 PM MDT for Custer County, Montana. It was in force for 60 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
Jul 9, 2000, 6:30 PM MDT (00:30 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 2000, 7:30 PM MDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Custer County, MT

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 9, 6:50 PM MDTHail 1Miles City, MT
Jul 9, 7:15 PM MDTHail 2.75Kinsey, MT
Jul 9, 7:25 PM MDTHail 1Miles City, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 9, 5:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 232 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 2000-07-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2043 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 2000-07-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 113 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
2043 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
950 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
262 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
11.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS55 KBYZ 100032
SVRBIL
MTC017-100130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
630 PM MDT SUN JUL 9 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CUSTER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA

* UNTIL 730 PM MDT

* AT 630 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH DAMAGING WINDS 29 MILES NORTH OF MILES    
  CITY...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. OTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE      
  DEVELOPING 10 MILES NORTH OF MILES CITY.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF 
  CUSTER COUNTY.

$$

LAT...LON 4688 10615 4670 10614 4642 10601 4619 10551
          4658 10477

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 Jul 9, 2:30 PM MDT, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 2:30 PM MDT, 4 hours before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
154 PM MDT SUN JUL 9 2000

.MON AND TUE...
AVN/ETA SIMILAR THROUGH FIRST 24HRS...THEN DIFFERENCES BEGIN TO BE
NOTICED. AVN SWINGS DEEPER TROUGH WITH STRONGER VORT THROUGH W MT
BRINGING MORE MOISTURE TO THE NE AND E WHILE THE ETA KEEPS A WEAKER
VORT FURTHER NORTH AND BEGINS TO DEVELOP ZONAL FLOW...PRECIP THEN
REMAINS OVER THE NC/NE PORTIONS OF MT. BASED ON PAST PERFORMANCE AND
CONSISTENCY...WILL GO MORE IN LINE WITH THE AVN MODEL BEYOND 24HRS
YET MAKE A COMPROMISE BETWEEN AVN/MESO SINCE AM NOT SURE WHAT WILL
REALLY HAPPEN ON DAY 2. SCT POPS AND WARM TEMPS SEEM TO BE THE TREND
AND WILL NOT STRAY FROM RECENT HISTORY OF AFTN THUNDER AND WARMING
READINGS. SPRINGER

.WED...THU...AND FRI...
EXTENDED MODELS DEFINITELY SHOWING CHANGES TO THIS PATTERN...AND HAVE
BEEN DOING IT FOR A COUPLE OF RUNS NOW. BOTH MRF AND ECMWF BUILD A
STRONG RIDGE INTO THE ROCKIES. 592MB HEIGHT LINE TOUCHES THE SOUTHERN
MONTANA BORDER WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND MORE-OR-LESS STAYS THERE THROUGH
THE END OF THE WEEK. 700MB TEMPERATURES WARM AND THIS COULD CAP THE AREA
OFF FROM ANY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. SHORTWAVES ARE PROGGED TO MOVE UP AND
OVER THE RIDGE. MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL BE THE KEY...AND BOTH THE AVN
AND MRF PULLS SOME MOISTURE UP INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA. THIS COULD
IGNITE AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION OVER THE MOUNTAINS. WILL KEEP
THE MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS GOING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA BUT CHANGE
THE EAST TO MAINLY DRY WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY. WILL MENTION THE CHANCE OF
STORMS OVER THE SOUTHEAST ON THURSDAY AS STRONG WAVE PROGGED THROUGH THE
AREA...COULD BE ENOUGH TO BREAK THE CAP. HIGHS IN THE 90S A GOOD BET
WITH STRONG RIDGING. HUMPHREY

BIL BTTTT 059/087 059/092 060/094 062/094 060/090 544432 54
LVM BTTTT 054/085 056/090 057/093 057/093 057/089 544332 54
HDN BTTTT 058/088 058/093 059/095 061/095 059/095 544432 54
MLS BTBTB 062/089 062/092 063/094 065/096 063/092 544444 54
4BQ BTBTB 063/088 061/092 061/095 063/095 061/091 544444 54
BHK BTBTB 062/087 060/092 060/094 062/094 060/090 544444 54
SHR BTBTB 055/089 057/093 057/095 059/095 057/091 543333 54

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 6:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Treasure, Yellowstone60 min
Jul 9, 7:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Treasure61 min
Jul 9, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter, Custer, Fallon65 min
Jul 10, 4:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Yellowstone64 min
Jul 10, 5:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn64 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.