Alert archive / Montana / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 9, NWS Glasgow, MT

July 17, 2001Richland County, Montana

NWS Glasgow, MT issued this flash flood warning at Jul 17, 2001, 10:40 PM MDT for Richland County, Montana. It was in force for 3 hr. 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
Jul 17, 2001, 10:40 PM MDT (04:40 UTC)
Expired
Jul 18, 2001, 1:45 AM MDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Glasgow, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Richland County, MT

The radar

The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:44 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, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 118 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 2001-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 339 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 2001-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 26 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
339 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2182 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
26 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KGGW 180442
FFWGGW

MTC083-180745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
1040 PM MDT TUE JUL 17 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GLASGOW HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN RICHLAND COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MONTANA

* UNTIL 145 AM MDT

* AT 1033 PM MDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL NEAR EXTREME WEST CENTRAL
  RICHLAND COUNTY...OR ABOUT 29 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WOLF POINT...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN THE
  WARNED AREA. RUNOFF FROM THIS EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL CAUSE FLASH
  FLOODING TO OCCUR. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLASH
  FLOODING INCLUDE...RURAL NORTHWESTERN RICHLAND COUNTY 

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL
CREEKS AND STREAMS...COUNTRY ROADS...NORMALLY DRY WASHES AND
COULEES...AS WELL AS FARMLAND ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

LAT...LON 4805 10518 4774 10519 4774 10487 4807 10492

.END
78

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 17, 8:20 PM MDT, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 8:20 PM MDT, 2 hours 20 minutes before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
820 PM MDT TUE JUL 17 2001

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR ENTIRE CWA THROUGH 10 PM...

STRONG STORMS CONTINUING OVER WEST CENTRAL PORTIONS OF CWA ATTM.
STRONGEST INSTABILITY REMAINS OVER FAR EASTERN ZONES. WILL BE A RACE
TO SEE IF UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS CAN MAKE IT THERE BEFORE DIURNAL
COOLING BEGINS. EXPLOSIVE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT NORTH OF SHERIDAN
COUNTY IN CANADA HAS ME A BIT CONCERNED. INSTABILITY AXIS LIES ALONG
NORTH DAKOTA BORDER SOUTH OF THIS STORM. ALTHOUGH NOT BEING
INDICATED WELL ON RADAR. STORMS JUST NOW BEGINNING TO FIRE OVER
RICHLAND COUNTY (CAN SEE THEM OFF TO THE EAST OUT OF WINDOW). IF
THESE STORMS SHOW THE SAME EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT AS THE CANADIAN
STORM...COULD HAVE A LONGER THAN EXPECTED EVENT. WILL LEAVE
WATCH/ZONE ARRANGEMENT ALONE FOR NOW.   POHL

EXTENDED...UPPER LOW REMAINS OVER ALBERTA UNTIL SAT WHEN IT MOVES
EAST AS AN OPEN TROF. THEN AN UPPER TROF DEVELOPS OVER WEST COAST
OVER THE WEEKEND THAT CONTINUES INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. EXCEPT FOR A
BRIEF PERIOD ON SUNDAY...ERN MT IS IN SW FLOW ALOFT FOR THE ENTIRE
EXTENDED PERIOD WITH FREQUENT SHORTWAVES. GIVEN THE UNSETTLED
PATTERN...WILL NEED TO MENTION A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY.
FORRESTER

KGGW 062/084 060/085 062/082 058/083 056/085 058/084 061/085
      TTTBBBB  793323/7933333
KGDV 063/085 061/085 061/085 057/085 058j/085 058/084 060/084
      TTTBBBB  794423/7933333

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 17, 10:00 PM MDT, 40 minutes before
MTZ016-021-059-060-180430-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
1000 PM MDT TUE JUL 17 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CLEARED A PORTION OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 565. AREAS CLEARED FROM THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDE:

IN NORTHEAST MONTANA:

PETROLEUM             PHILLIPS

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF MALTA...WHITEWATER...WINNETT AND ZORTMAN.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 7:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWGarfield67 min
Jul 17, 8:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWRichland53 min
Jul 17, 8:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWGarfield, McCone, Prairie62 min
Jul 17, 9:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWRichland54 min
Jul 17, 9:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWDawson, McCone, Prairie63 min
Jul 17, 10:11 PM MDTTornado WarningGGWDawson64 min
Jul 17, 10:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWRoosevelt, Sheridan66 min
Jul 17, 10:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWRichland58 min
Jul 17, 10:52 PM MDTTornado WarningGGWRichland53 min
Jul 17, 10:54 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWDawson3 hr
Jul 17, 10:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWPrairie64 min
Jul 17, 11:09 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWRoosevelt3 hr
Jul 17, 11:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWDawson60 min
Jul 17, 11:23 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWSheridan3 hr
Jul 17, 11:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWRoosevelt, Sheridan56 min
Jul 17, 11:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWRichland59 min
Jul 17, 11:46 PM MDTTornado WarningGGWRoosevelt59 min
Jul 17, 11:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWPrairie54 min
Jul 18, 12:47 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWPrairie58 min
Jul 18, 1:07 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWPrairie3 hr
Jul 18, 1:46 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWRichland3 hr
Jul 18, 2:01 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWDawson3 hr
Jul 18, 2:15 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWRoosevelt3 hr
Jul 18, 2:28 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWSheridan3 hr
Jul 18, 4:41 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningGGWDawson, McCone, Richland3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Montana, 2001Every flash flood warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.