Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 109, NWS Great Falls, MT

September 4, 2000Blaine County, Chouteau County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 4, 2000, 11:44 PM MDT for Blaine County, Chouteau County, Montana. It was in force for 46 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Sep 4, 2000, 11:44 PM MDT (05:44 UTC)
Expired: Sep 5, 2000, 12:30 AM MDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Great Falls, MT
Area: Whole counties

Counties Blaine County, MT, Chouteau County, MT

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 230 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: 94 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -250 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1017 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 64 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.

000 
WUUS55 KTFX 050545
SVRGTF
MTC005-015-050630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1144 PM MDT MON SEP 4 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL BLAINE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA
  NORTHEASTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 1230 AM MDT

* AT 1136 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME NORTHEASTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTY...OR
  ABOUT 18 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BIG SANDY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
RURAL WESTERN BLAINE COUNTY AT MIDNIGHT MDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE
FOR DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...PREFERABLY
INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM! WINDOWS.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN GREAT FALLS.

$$
LAT...LON 4810 10990 4797 10972 4818 10930 4829 10944

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 4, 9:00 PM MDT, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 4, 9:00 PM MDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
900 PM MDT MON SEP 4 2000

TFX RADAR SHOWS A BAND OF ECHOES FROM NORTHERN BEAVERHEAD COUNTY
NORTHEAST INTO HILL AND BLAINE COUNTIES. SATELLITE PICTURES SHOW STRONG
UPPER LOW IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH CLOUDS INCREASING FROM THIS LOW
NORTHEAST INTO IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA. NEW ETA SHOWS A STRONG SHORT
WAVE EJECTING NORTHEAST INTO WESTERN MONTANA DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS
WITH UPSLOPE CONTINUING. EXPECT SOME GOOD RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN FORECAST
AREA AS A RESULT. SHORT WAVE MOVES EASTWARD TUESDAY NIGHT WITH A HANG
BACK TROUGH OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND NORTHWEST NEVADA. RAIN SHOULD
END TUESDAY NIGHT WITH DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW FOR WEDNESDAY. WILL UPDATE
TO FINE TUNE FORECAST. OARD

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...MRF...72HR NEW AVN...72HR UKMET SHOW UPPER LOW
HANGING BACK OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OR NORTHWEST NEVADA WEDNESDAY. MRF
TAKES THIS LITTLE LOW THROUGH MONTANA THURSDAY NIGHT AS NEXT TROUGH DIGS
TOWARD THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. 60HOUR ETA DOES NOT SHOW TROUGH IN THIS
LOCATION WITH RIDGE UPSTREAM IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST. DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE
THE MRF COULD BE ACCURATE ON A SUCH A SMALL FEATURE THURSDAY NIGHT 108
HOURS OUT. WILL GO WITH EXTRAPOLATION OF ETA AND IGNORE THE LITTLE
TROUGH. THE STRONGER TROUGH APPROACHING PACIFIC NORTHWEST FRIDAY MOVES
INTO NORTHERN ROCKIES SATURDAY AND MAY SPREAD SCATTERED SHOWERS OR
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE AREA. HOWEVER ECMWF...LAST RUN 24 HOURS
AGO...SHOWS ONLY A WEAK SHORT WAVE ZIPPING THROUGH SOUTHERN CANADA WITH
LITTLE AFFECT MONTANA...EXCEPT WIND. WILL GO WITH MRF ON SATURDAY. OARD

CCF NUMBERS
GTF RE 045/060 045/068 048 135621
CTB RE 044/060 044/066 044 134521
HLN RE 045/062 045/068 044 137731
BZN RW 043/068 040/068 040 136731
WEY RW 035/062 030/066 030 136731
DLN RW 042/065 040/067 038 136731
HVR RE 046/062 046/068 044 136721
LWT RE 046/060 043/0{65 042 138721

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 4, 10:49 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Chouteau	26 min
Sep 4, 11:14 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Chouteau	31 min
Sep 5, 12:12 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Cascade	33 min
Sep 5, 3:52 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Cascade, Lewis and Clark	38 min
Sep 5, 3:55 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Chouteau	50 min
Sep 5, 4:12 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Cascade	48 min
Sep 5, 4:58 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Cascade	47 min
Sep 5, 5:35 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Chouteau	40 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.