Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 618

July 23, 20018 counties in Montana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 23, 2001, 10:00 PM MDT for 8 counties in Montana. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 23, 2001, 10:00 PM MDT (04:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 24, 2001, 3:00 AM MDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Big Horn County, MT, Carbon County, MT, Golden Valley County, MT, Musselshell County, MT, Rosebud County, MT, Stillwater County, MT, Treasure County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:01 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.

Warnings issued inside it

1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 23, 10:04 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarbon, Stillwater56 min

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 242 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2001-07-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 455 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2001-07-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 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
455 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

587 
WWUS9 KMKC 240346
SEL8  
MKC WW 240340
MTZ000-240900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 618
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
940 PM MDT MON JUL 23 2001

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 1000 PM UNTIL
300 AM MDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES WEST OF BILLINGS MONTANA TO 110 MILES
EAST OF BILLINGS MONTANA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 616.  WATCH NUMBER 616 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 1000 PM MDT.  CONTINUE...WW 617...

DISCUSSION...ISOLATED SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE
OVER PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL MT NEAR BIL.  THESE STORMS ARE FORECAST
TO PERSIST FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS IN REGION OF MODERATE INSTABILITY
AND STRONG LOW LEVEL AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR.  STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL
WINDS JUST ABOVE SURFACE AND PRESENCE OF SURFACE BOUNDARY SUGGESTED
AN INCREASED THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES IN STRONGER CELLS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

...HART

463,1094 463,1061 445,1061 450,1094

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 24, 4:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCDaniels, Dawson, Garfield, McCone, Petroleum, Phillips and 5 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Montana, 2001Every tornado watch 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.