Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Billings, MT

June 26, 2001Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at Jun 26, 2001, 8:25 PM MDT for Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Montana. It was in force for 35 min. 4 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: Jun 26, 2001, 8:25 PM MDT (02:25 UTC)
Expired: Jun 26, 2001, 9:00 PM MDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Billings, MT
Area: Whole counties

Counties Musselshell County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 26, 8:25 PM MDT	Thunderstorm Wind 62 M	Billings Logan Arpt, MT
Jun 26, 8:35 PM MDT	Hail 1.75	Billings, MT	Golf ball size hail
Jun 26, 8:35 PM MDT	Hail 1	Laurel, MT
Jun 26, 8:35 PM MDT	Hail 1.25	Laurel, 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 26, 5:00 PM MDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 221 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 2153 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 88 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 KBYZ 270229
TORBIL
MTC065-111-270300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
825 PM MDT TUE JUN 26 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  YELLOWSTONE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA THIS INCLUDES THE CITY 
   OF BILLINGS

* UNTIL 900 PM MDT

* AT 825 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A COUPLE OF TORNADOS. ONE TORNADO NEAR THE BILLINGS HEIGHTS. THE
  SECOND NEAR LAUREL. BOTH TORNADOS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL AFFECT...
   BILLINGS HEIGHTS THROUGH 830 PM
   LAUREL THROUGH 830 PM
   LOCKWOOD BY 840 PM
   SHEPHERD AND HUNTLEY BY 845 PM

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

THIS WARNING REPLACES THE PREVIOUS TORNADO WARNING FOR YELLOWSTONE 
COUNTY.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM MDT TUESDAY EVENING 
FOR SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING.

$$

LAT...LON 4555 10876 4554 10871 4548 10869 4547 10832
          4553 10811 4616 10812 4613 10889 4565 10885
          4564 10877 4557 10880 4554 10871 4548 10869

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 Jun 26, 2:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 26, 2:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 55 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
230 PM MDT TUE JUN 26 2001

.WED AND THU...
MODELS SIMILAR IN KEEPING SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA
TONIGHT. THE HIGH MOVES INTO THE PLAINS WEDNESDAY WITH THE RETURN FLOW
BRINGING WARMER TEMPERATURES  AS WELL AS HIGHER DEW POINTS.  SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT CONTINUE ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WITH MIDLEVEL MOISTURE
STREAMING INTO THE BEARTOOTH MOUNTAINS FROM IDAHO. IR SATELLITE PHOTOS
INDICATE OROGRAPHIC CONVECTION OVER YELLOWSTONE PARK THAT SHOULD DRIFT
INTO WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA THIS EVENING FOR SCATTERED HIGH BASED
THUNDERSTORMS. DEWPOINTS WILL SLOWLY INCREASE IN SOUTHERN MONTANA THAT
SHOULD SPREAD NORTH THIS EVENING & TONIGHT THAT COULD PROVIDE MOISTURE
FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. A LOW LEVEL CAP WILL HELP KEEP  CONVECTION
TO A MINIMUM IN THE EAST. THE RETURN FLOW WILL HELP BRING WARMER TEMPS
INTO THE CWA WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THORICHT

.FRI...SAT...SUN...MON...TUE...

HOT AND MAINLY DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS REMAINS OVER MONTANA. WEAK
SHORTWAVES MOVING ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY WILL ONLY PRODUCE ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS. A STRONGER WAVE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY...
BRINGING THE BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE EXTENDED PERIOD.
NORTHWEST FLOW PREVAILS MONDAY AND TUESDAY...BRINGING MAINLY DRY
WEATHER MONDAY AND DRY WEATHER TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLER
MONDAY AND TUESDAY. MIDDENDORF

    WED     THU     FRI     SAT     SUN     MON     TUE
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 062/091 059/090 060/089 062/093 062/093 058/082 053/082
    34/T    21/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B
LVM 058/086 056/089 054/088 055/090 055/088 055/078 046/078
    34/T    21/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B
HDN 060/094 057/092 058/091 060/094 060/094 059/085 050/085
    34/T    21/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B
MLS 063/093 065/090 063/093 063/095 064/095 061/085 054/085
    24/T    31/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B
4BQ 064/095 064/092 064/093 064/095 063/095 060/083 052/083
    24/T    31/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B
BHK 061/092 061/092 061/093 061/095 062/093 060/081 050/081
    24/T    31/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B
SHR 060/091 058/091 055/089 055/092 055/094 055/081 047/081
    34/T    21/B    22/B    22/B    23/T    32/B    20/B

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 26, 7:28 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	62 min
Jun 26, 7:53 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	37 min
Jun 26, 8:10 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Carbon, Stillwater	20 min
Jun 26, 9:00 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	45 min
Jun 26, 9:10 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	2 hr
Jun 26, 9:25 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Big Horn	65 min
Jun 26, 9:45 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	45 min
Jun 26, 9:58 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	62 min
Jun 26, 11:17 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	58 min
Jun 27, 2:30 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Fallon	60 min
Jun 27, 2:55 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Custer	35 min
Jun 27, 3:29 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Custer, Fallon	61 min

Nearby

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