Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Billings, MT

July 25, 2001Fallon County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at Jul 25, 2001, 7:45 PM MDT for Fallon County, Montana. It was in force for 55 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 25, 2001, 7:45 PM MDT (01:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 25, 2001, 8:40 PM MDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Fallon County, MT

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 25, 7:50 PM MDTTornado F1Baker, MTNWS Post-Storm Damage Assessment Team determined F1 tornado 100 yards wide with a path length of 3/4 of a mile and was on the ground for 5 minutes. Around 6:45 p.m. on July 25th...a supercell thunderstorm developed in Prairie County, Montana and moved southeas
Jul 25, 8:30 PM MDTHail 1Baker, MTHail covered the ground

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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 25, 5:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 267 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 2001-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 633 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 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 2001-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 77 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
633 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-44 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1657 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
77 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS55 KBYZ 260147
TORBIL

MTC025-260240-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
745 PM MDT WED JUL 25 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN FALLON COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BAKER

* UNTIL 840 PM MDT

* AT 739 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF BAKER...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
  30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...  
  EASTERN FALLON COUNTY...MAINLY NORTHEAST OF BAKER. 

* HAIL THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR mA SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!

$$
&

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM MDT
WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHEAST MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4662 10436 4647 10452 4602 10377 4624 10353

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Jul 25, 2:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 2:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 15 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
230 PM MDT WED JUL 25 2001

.THU AND FRI...
ACTIVE SLIGHTLY CYCLONIC FLOW OVER AREA NEXT 2 DAYS.

TONIGHT...TOUGH FORECAST TO FIGURE EXACTLY WHEN AND WHERE CONVETION
WILL FIRE...WITH NO DEFINANT TRIGGER EVIDENT ON SATELLITE. 18Z MESO-ETA
PROGGING GREAT MOISTURE ADVECTION BACK INTO CENTRAL MONTANA TONIGHT.
CURRENT LAPS CAPES SHOWING SHARP GRADIENT FROM 1000 J/KG OVER MLS TO
2800 J/KG OVER BAKER. INSTABILITY NOT A PROBLEM AT THIS TIME EASTERN
ZONES...AND IF MESO-ETA VERIFIES WONT BE A PROBLEM FURTHER WEST LATER
TONIGHT. CURRENT VISIBLE IMAGERY SHOWING SEVERAL POSSIBLE BOUNDARIES
OVER SOUTHEAST MONTANA WHICH MAY HELP TO INITIATE CONVECTION. MESO-ETA
POINTING TO CONVECTION INITIATING IN CENTRAL MONTANA AND THEN MOVING
NORTHEAST. WILL LEAVE SEVERE WORDING OUT OF WESTERN ZONES AT THIS
TIME...AS NOT AS CONFIDENT THERE...BUT WILL LEAVE IN EASTERN ZONES.

THURSDAY LOOKS EVEN BETTER FOR SEVERE CONVECTION...ACROSS ENTIRE COUNTY
WARNING AREA. EASTERLY FLOW CONTINUES OVER NIGHT AND PUSHED INSTABILTY
BACK TO LVM. A BETTER TRIGGER IN THE FORM OF A 500 MB WAVE PUSHES INTO
AREA IN THE AFTERNOON TO TRIGGER ACTIVITY. WILL COVER WITH HIGH
SCATTERED POPS.

FRIDAY...SLIGHT RIDGING TRIES TO BUILD IN...BUT ATMOSPHERE REMAINS
UNSTABLE AND NOT CAPPED..FOR CONTINUED CHANCE OF CONVECTION. RASCH

.SAT...SUN...MON...TUE...WED...
SEE NO REASON TO CHANGE TO CURRENT THINKING OF THE EXTENDED. CONSENSUS
IS THAT THE MRF IS TOO PROGRESSIVE ON SENDING PACIFIC NORTHWEST TROUGH
THROUGH THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THIS WEEKEND. SINCE THE MRF IS THE ODD
MODEL OUT IN DOING THIS...WILL LEAN TOWARD THE ECMWF. THE CURRENT
EXTENDED WAS COMPOSED WITH THIS IDEA IN MIND...SO WILL NOT TINKER MUCH
WITH IT. UPPER RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES AND CENTRAL PLAINS SHOULD
KEEP IT FAIRLY WARM AND UNSETTLED. SOUTHWEST FLOW REMAINS ENTRENCHED
OVER MONTANA FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. HUMPHREY

    THU     FRI     SAT     SUN     MON     TUE     WED
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 059/086 060/087 062/091 059/084 062/087 060/085 058/083
    34/T    42/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
LVM 053/085 057/086 059/088 056/081 059/084 057/082 057/080
    24/T    42/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
HDN 057/088 058/089 061/093 057/086 060/089 058/087 056/085
    34/T    42/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
MLS 060/088 062/090 064/094 064/087 064/090 062/088 060/086
    44/T    43/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
4BQ 060/087 062/088 063/093 063/086 063/089 061/087 059/085
    44/T    43/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
BHK 059/086 061/087 061/091 060/084 060/087 059/085 057/083
    44/T    43/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
SHR 057/088 058/085 059/091 057/085 059/088 057/086 055/084
    44/T    42/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T    33/T

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 6:42 PM MDTTornado WarningBYZFallon63 min
Jul 25, 7:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZRosebud30 min
Jul 25, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZRosebud30 min
Jul 25, 8:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCuster60 min
Jul 26, 11:00 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Wheatland60 min
Jul 26, 12:00 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningBYZGolden Valley3 hr
Jul 26, 12:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley60 min
Jul 26, 12:42 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell63 min
Jul 26, 12:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley61 min
Jul 26, 1:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell59 min
Jul 26, 2:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Yellowstone64 min
Jul 26, 2:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZTreasure60 min
Jul 26, 3:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell63 min
Jul 26, 3:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn93 min
Jul 26, 3:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZTreasure60 min
Jul 26, 3:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZRosebud56 min
Jul 26, 3:37 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter53 min
Jul 26, 4:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZRosebud60 min
Jul 26, 5:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZRosebud60 min
Jul 26, 5:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn57 min
Jul 26, 5:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCuster58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes in 2001

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.