Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Great Falls, MT

September 5, 2000Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Sep 5, 2000, 8:27 PM MDT for Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 18 min. No storm report in the archive falls 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.

The facts

Issued
Sep 5, 2000, 8:27 PM MDT (02:27 UTC)
Expired
Sep 5, 2000, 8:45 PM MDT
In force
18 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Judith Basin County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:28 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 299 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 2000-09-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 256 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 2000-09-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
256 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-222 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1019 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
12 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 
WFUS55 KTFX 060228
TORGTF

MTC045-060245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
827 PM MDT TUE SEP 5 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA 

* UNTIL 845 PM MDT

* AT 820 PM MDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 6 MILES     
  NORTH OF STANFORD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

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 GHEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4722 11047 4710 11028 4723 11009 4738 11024

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 5, 6:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Fergus27 min
Sep 5, 6:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine, Fergus50 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.