Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 29, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 2, 2000Fergus County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 2, 2000, 6:47 PM MDT for Fergus County, Montana. It was in force for 43 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
Jul 2, 2000, 6:47 PM MDT (00:47 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 2000, 7:30 PM MDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Fergus County, MT

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 2, 4:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 106 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 00:00Z on 2000-07-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 62 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2000-07-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 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
62 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

816 
WUUS55 KTFX 030047
SVRGTF
MTC027-030130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
647 PM MDT SUN JUL 2 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN FERGUS COUNTY IN MONTANA

* UNTIL 730 PM MDT

* AT 646 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRASS RANGE...OR ABOUT 26
  MILES SOUTHEAST OF LEWISTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GRASS RANGE AT 715 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.

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

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM MDT
SUNDAY EVENING FOR NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.

$$
LAT...LON 4677 10926 4664 10908 4688 10863 4709 10862
          4709 10875 4722 10875

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 Jul 2, 3:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 3:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT SUN JUL 2 2000

TOUGH TO IDENTIFY S/WV TROF IN SW FLOW STREAMING OVER SW AND CENTRAL MT
THIS AFTN...BUT RADAR SHOWS SHOWERS/TSTMS DVLPG QUICLY OVER SW MT. BOTH
RUC AND AVN INDICATE S/WV MOVING INTO SW ZONES BY 00Z THIS EVE...
REACHING CENTRAL MT AROUND 06Z AND HI LINE 12Z MON. ETA SHOWS BEST
INSTABILITY THIS EVE OVER SRN AND ERN PORTIONS OF CWA. BY 18Z MON LI
RANGES FROM -6 OVER CENTRAL MT ALONG WITH CAPE > 2000 J/KG. FURTHER W LI
ARE -2 TO -3 AND CAPE 1000-1500 J/KG.WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW OVERRUNNING
WEAK UPSLOPE GRADS EXPECT WIDESPREAD CONVECTION MON WITH POSSIBILITY OF
SVR ERN ZONES. AVN SHOWS UPR LOW SWINGING N OF CWA TUE MORNING WITH AMS
STABILIZING AND DRYING DURING THE DAY. ETA SOMEWHAT SLOWER...ALTHO SFC
PATTERN INDICATES DOWNSLOPE GRADS ALONG NRN E SLOPES TUE AFTN. WITH CONT
CYCLONIC SW FLOW AND DAYTIME HEATING CANNOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT AFTN
CONVECTION. WILL KEEP HIGHEST POPS ALONG HI LINE TUE. EYSSAUTIER

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...MEAN UPPER TROUGH OVER PAC NW THRU PERIOD. STATE
THUS REMAINS UNDER SWLY FLOW ALOFT DRAWING SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE NEWD
INTO STATE. SEVERAL SHORT WAVES ROTATE ACROSS AREA TO MAINTAIN CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY. HEIGHTS RISE A LITTLE
TOWARD END OF WEEK AS WEAK...NEGATIVELY TILTED RIDGE PUSHES NWWD INTO
STATE. THICKNESSES INCREASE BENEATH THIS RIDGE AND WITH FLOW ALOFT
SLOWLY BECOMING MORE WLY BY FRI TEMPERATURES WILL BE WARMER. AT SAME
TIME MORE WLY FLOW WILL REDUCE MOISTURE AVAILABLE FOR CONVECTION. STILL
WILL GO WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY AND ISOLATED OVER THE
MOUNTAINS FRIDAY. BRITTON

CCF NUMBERS
GTF TW 052/070 050/070 050 094774
CTB WW 046/068 048/065 045 094664
HLN TT 052/068 050/070 050 096884
BZN TT 050/066 050/068 045 096884
WEY TT 042/062 045/065 040 094884
DLN TW 048/068 045/068 045 096864
HVR TW 052/070 052/068 050 094666
LWT TW 050/070 050/068 050 096886

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 3, 1:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin23 min
Jul 3, 1:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBroadwater, Gallatin49 min
Jul 3, 1:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin33 min
Jul 3, 2:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXMeagher42 min
Jul 3, 2:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXMeagher30 min
Jul 3, 3:20 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Hill40 min
Jul 3, 3:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau49 min
Jul 3, 3:42 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin33 min
Jul 3, 3:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine34 min
Jul 3, 4:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXHill29 min
Jul 3, 4:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus33 min
Jul 3, 4:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine50 min
Jul 3, 4:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus40 min
Jul 3, 5:17 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus28 min
Jul 3, 5:20 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine40 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.