Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 554

July 8, 200011 counties in Montana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jul 8, 2000, 5:45 PM MDT for 11 counties in Montana. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 8, 2000, 5:45 PM MDT (23:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 2000, 12:00 AM MDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Blaine County, MT, Broadwater County, MT, Cascade County, MT, Chouteau County, MT, Fergus County, MT, Golden Valley County, MT, Hill County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT, Liberty County, MT, Meagher County, MT, Wheatland County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:48 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.

Warnings issued inside it

13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 5:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade25 min
Jul 8, 5:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade51 min
Jul 8, 6:11 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXChouteau, Fergus64 min
Jul 8, 6:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Chouteau44 min
Jul 8, 6:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade49 min
Jul 8, 6:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Chouteau54 min
Jul 8, 7:12 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus63 min
Jul 8, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Chouteau60 min
Jul 8, 7:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin40 min
Jul 8, 8:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin60 min
Jul 8, 8:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine, Chouteau65 min
Jul 8, 9:24 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus36 min
Jul 8, 9:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine, Fergus50 min

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 18 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 12:00Z on 2000-07-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2000-07-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2167 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
162 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.

796 
WWUS9 KMKC 082339
SEL4  
MKC WW 082333
MTZ000-090600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 554
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
533 PM MDT SAT JUL 8 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   CENTRAL MONTANA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 545 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT MDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF HARLOWTON
MONTANA TO 30 MILES NORTH OF HAVRE MONTANA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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 552...WW 553...

DISCUSSION...A FEW SUPERCELLS WITH LARGE HAIL/HIGH WINDS AND
POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED TORNADO EXPECTED ACROSS N CENTRAL MT THIS
EVENING...WHERE UPLIFT ASSOCIATED WITH SHORTWAVE MOVING NE ACROSS
ID WILL GRAZE REGION OF MODEST UPSLOPE FLOW/SURFACE-BASED
INSTABILITY.  

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.  MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 23035.

...CORFIDI

461,1122 485,1113 485,1080 461,1090

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 9:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCuster, Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Musselshell, Petroleum and 6 more6 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Montana, 2000Every severe thunderstorm watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.