Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 12, NWS Great Falls, MT

June 27, 2001Fergus County, Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 27, 2001, 9:09 PM MDT for Fergus County, Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 51 min. 3 reports came from 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, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jun 27, 2001, 9:09 PM MDT (03:09 UTC)
Expired
Jun 27, 2001, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Fergus County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:12 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 27, 9:30 PM MDTHail 1Hobson, MTActual spotter location is Hobson 16 SW.
Jun 27, 9:30 PM MDTHail 0.75Moore, MTReported by spotter in Moore.
Jun 27, 10:10 PM MDTHail 0.75Moore, MTActual spotter location is Moore 5 W.

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
Jun 27, 7:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 78 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 2001-06-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1392 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2001-06-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 54 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
1392 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2183 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
54 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
148 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS55 KTFX 280311
SVRGTF

MTC027-045-280400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
909 PM MDT WED JUN 27 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN FERGUS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA
  SOUTHEASTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 1000 PM MDT

* AT 907 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER HOBSON...OR ABOUT 22 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  STANFORD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HOBSON AT 915 PM MDT
  4 MILES NORTHWEST OF MOORE AT 925 PM MDT
  9 MILES NORTHWEST OF LEWISTOWN AT 1000 PM MDT

STRONG GUSTY WINDS OVER 60 MPH AND HAIL ONE TO TWO INCHES ARE 
POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN GREAT FALLS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM MDT
THURSDAY MORNING FOR NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4690 11015 4675 10980 4726 10902 4761 10951

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 27, 2:45 PM MDT, 6 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 27, 2:45 PM MDT, 6 hours 24 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
245 PM MDT WED JUN 27 2001

AIR EVEN MORE MOIST THAN ANTICIPATED ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA THIS
AFTERNOON WITH LOW LEVEL EASTERLY FLOW. MSAS PLOT AND MODIFIED 12Z
SOUNDING INDICATING AN LI OF -6 OVER GTF AT 2 PM. THE QUESTION IS...
WHERE WILL THE TRIGGER COME FROM TO START CONVECTION? FRONT AND
ASSOCIATED SHOWERS LYING ALONG THE WESTERN BORDER IS THE BEST
POSSIBILITY. THIS FEATURE SEEMS TO BE MOVING SLOWER THAT MODELS HAD
INDICATED...BUT CONVECTION ALSO OCCURRING AHEAD OF IT. STRONGER
SHORTWAVE IN WYOMING WILL MOVE INTO EASTERN MONTANA AND NOT BE A
FACTOR IN OUR FORECAST. FLOW ALOFT BECOMES INCREASING DIFFLUENT OVER
THE NEXT 6-12 HOURS...SO WILL CONTINUE WITH SCATTERED POPS TONIGHT...
EXCEPT FOR NORTHEAST ZONES WHERE LIKELY POPS WILL BE USED. BEST
MOISTURE CONVERGENCE OCCURS THERE AROUND 06Z...AND WITH THE SUN
BREAKING OUT THIS AFTERNOON...TEMPERATURES MAY STILL BE IN THE 70S BY
THE TIME THE BOUNDARY MAKES IT THERE. FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...UPPER
FLOW BECOMES MORE CYCLONIC...ALTHOUGH RESIDUAL INSTABILITY AND WEAK
SHORTWAVES AFFECTING THE SOUTHEAST ZONES WILL ALLOW FOR ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. POMEROY

EXTENDED...UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE TROUGH REMAINS CENTERED OFF BC
COAST EARLY IN PERIOD WITH HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE CENTERED OVER FOUR
CORNERS REGION. TROUGH CONTINUES TO SPIN DISTURBANCES INLAND WITH
SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER PACIFIC NORTHWEST STEERING THE DISTURBANCES
INTO WESTERN MONTANA. THE STRONGEST OF THESE WILL BRUSH ACROSS THE
NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN PORTION OF THE CWA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY
FOR THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS. AS THIS DISTURBANCE EXITS...THE
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE BEGINS STRENGTHENING AND RETROGRADING...WITH
THE CENTER OVER NORTHWEST WY AND THE AXIS SHIFTING TO THE MT/ID
BORDER. THIS SHIFT WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES SEASONABLY WARM WITH ONLY
ISOLATED AFTERNOON SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

GTF BB 054/078 050/078 048 19511
CTB BB 050/072 047/072 045 19511
HLN BB 045/080 050/080 050 19411
BZN BB 052/080 049/080 048 19422
WEY BB 046/072 044/074 042 19422
DLN BB 051/078 047/078 056 19411
HVR BU 054/083 050/083 050 19611
LWT BB 053/074 048/074 046 19422

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 27, 6:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Chouteau, Judith Basin45 min
Jun 27, 7:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin48 min
Jun 27, 10:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus, Judith Basin45 min
Jun 27, 11:14 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus, Judith Basin46 min
Jun 28, 12:14 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningTFXChouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin4 hr
Jun 28, 12:34 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus41 min
Jun 28, 1:45 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXMeagher30 min
Jun 28, 2:56 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus, Judith Basin49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2001Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.