Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Great Falls, MT

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

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Jul 5, 2000, 9:11 PM MDT for Cascade County, Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 34 min. 4 reports 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, 9:11 PM MDT (03:11 UTC)
Expired
Jul 5, 2000, 9:45 PM MDT
In force
34 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), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:10 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, 9:18 PM MDTTornado F0Belt, MTNear Tiger Butte.
Jul 5, 9:18 PM MDTHail 1.5Raynesford, MT
Jul 5, 9:30 PM MDTHail 1Armington, MT
Jul 5, 9:32 PM MDTHail 1Geyser, 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 nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 333 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.

806 
WFUS55 KTFX 060314 RRA
TORGTF
MTC013-045-060345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
911 PM MDT WED JUL 5 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 945 PM MDT

* DOPPER RADAR INDICATES A TORNADO 10 MILES SOUTH OF BELT MOVING 
EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. IT WILL BE NEAR RAYNESFORD BETWEEN 9:20 
AND 9:30 PM.


THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT
THURSDAY MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4731 11112 4715 11093 4715 11045 4741 11051

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, 8:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Judith Basin33 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, 9:17 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

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2000Every tornado warning in 2000Tornadoes 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.