Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2000

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 48, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 5, 2000Cascade County, Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 5, 2000, 8:27 PM MDT for Cascade County, Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 33 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 5, 2000, 8:27 PM MDT (02:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2000, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Cascade County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:31 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 5, 9:00 PM MDTHail 0.75Geyser, MTFunnel cloud seen over the Highwood Mountains.

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

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 329 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 2000-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1390 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 2000-07-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1390 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1773 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
4.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

194 
WUUS55 KTFX 060227
SVRGTF
MTC013-045-060300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
827 PM MDT WED JUL 5 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL CASCADE COUNTY IN MONTANA
  NORTHWESTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN MONTANA

* UNTIL 900 PM MDT

* AT 821 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GEYSER...OR ABOUT 26
  MILES WEST OF STANFORD...MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
RURAL NORTHWESTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY AT 840 PM MDT
RURAL EASTERN CASCADE COUNTY AT 850 PM MDT

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 MIDNIGHT MDT
THURSDAY MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4714 11093 4708 11068 4736 11037 4745 11081

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 5, 3:00 PM MDT, 5 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 3:00 PM MDT, 5 hours 27 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT WED JUL 5 2000

GENERAL WEATHER PATTERN NOT CHANGING MUCH NEXT 36 HOURS. MODELS MAINTAIN
MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT OVER CWA. ETA AND MESOETA MOVE A SHORT WAVE
TO SOUTHWEST MONTANA LATER THIS EVENING WITH ANOTHER SHORT WAVE MOVING
TO SOUTHWEST MONTANA THURSDAY MORNING. WILL MENTION AN ISOLATED CHANCE
OF A THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHWEST TONIGHT AND GO WITH A GENERAL SHOWERY
PATTERN THURSDAY. APPEARS GREATEST INSTABILITY REMAINS OVER CENTRAL AND
EASTERN MONTANA AND WILL GO WITH A MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE
LEWISTOWN AREA TONIGHT. UPPER LOW DIGS FURTHER SOUTH ALONG CALIFORNIA
COAST THURSDAY NIGHT PROVIDING A MORE WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. WEAK UPPER
RIDGE DEVELOPS FRIDAY FOR DRIER AND MORE STABLE CONDITIONS. TEMPERATURES
GRADUALLY WARM NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. EMANUEL

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...LONG RANGE PROGS CONTINUE WITH LONG WAVE TROUGH
NEAR PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST AND SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER AREA. FIRST SHORT
WAVE LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE EJECTED INTO MONTANA LATE SATURDAY. 72HR AVN
AGREES WITH 84 HR MRF ON THIS FEATURE. SO EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO
DEVELOP LATE ON SATURDAY. OTHERWISE MAINLY DIURNAL THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY
AND MONDAY WITH UNKNOWN TIMING OF NEXT SHORT WAVE. OARD

CCF NUMBERS
GTF WB 050/073 048/082 052 084621
CTB WB 045/070 045/078 048 084621
HLN WB 048/075 050/084 053 085621
BZN WB 048/076 050/084 050 085622
WEY WB 038/070 038/077 038 085622
DLN WB 045/075 047/083 049 085521
HVR WB 048/080 050/085 054 083631
LWT TB 048/075 050/081 050 085621

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 5, 7:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Chouteau, Judith Basin31 min
Jul 5, 8:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau36 min
Jul 5, 8:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Meagher29 min
Jul 5, 8:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau32 min
Jul 5, 8:50 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Judith Basin25 min
Jul 5, 8:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus36 min
Jul 5, 9:11 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXCascade, Judith Basin34 min
Jul 5, 9:17 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine, Chouteau, Fergus28 min
Jul 5, 9:39 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau36 min
Jul 5, 9:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine31 min
Jul 5, 10:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau29 min
Jul 5, 10:20 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine40 min
Jul 5, 10:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine59 min
Jul 5, 11:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus38 min
Jul 6, 5:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Meagher42 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.