Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Great Falls, MT

May 26, 2001Broadwater County, Jefferson County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 26, 2001, 2:32 PM MDT for Broadwater County, Jefferson County, Montana. It was in force for 28 min. 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
May 26, 2001, 2:32 PM MDT (20:32 UTC)
Expired
May 26, 2001, 3:00 PM MDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Broadwater County, MT, Jefferson County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:32 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

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 154 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 12:00Z on 2001-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 15 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Great_falls, MT at 12:00Z on 2001-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 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
15 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-251 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1320 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 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.

000 
WUUS55 KTFX 262033
SVRGTF
MTC007-043-262100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
232 PM MDT SAT MAY 26 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL BROADWATER COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF TOWNSEND
  NORTHEASTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA

* UNTIL 300 PM MDT

* AT 230 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES WEST OF TOWNSEND...MOVING EAST AT
  20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  TOWNSEND AT 250 PM MDT

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

LAT...LON 4632 11191 4619 11173 4622 11140 4644 11152

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 May 26, 9:15 AM MDT, 5 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 9:15 AM MDT, 5 hours 17 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
915 AM MDT SAT MAY 26 2001

...MINOR UPDATE PLANNED FOR ZONES THIS MORNING...

CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS PRETTY GOOD WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW MINOR
WORDING CHANGES AND AN INTRODUCTION OF SMALL POPS TO THE HAVRE AREA. ONE
SHORTWAVE HAS JUST ABOUT EXITED THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE STATE BUT
SEVERAL MORE ARE EXPECTED TO RIPPLE THROUGH DURING THIS FORECAST PERIOD.
MODELS BRING ANOTHER SHORTWAVE THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST THIS AFTERNOON.
STRONG UPPER LOW DIGGING OFF THE COAST WILL SHARPEN THE RIDGE OVER THE
REGION AS THE PERIOD WEARS ON FOR INCREASING SOUTHWEST FLOW. ATMOSPHERE
WILL DESTABILIZE THIS AFTERNOON WITH LIFTED INDICES BETWEEN MINUS 2 AND
MINUS 5 AND CAPES IN EXCESS OF 1300 J/KG. MODELS ALSO CONSISTENT WITH
SOME LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE...AGAIN MAINLY OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN ZONES.
12Z SOUNDING GIVES A CONVECTIVE TEMP OF 76 FOR GREAT FALLS AND SEE NO
REASON WHY THAT WILL NOT BE REACHED. SOUNDING ALSO SHOWS SOME CAPPING
BUT IT DOES APPEAR TO BE QUITE WEAK. I WILL INTRODUCE SOME MINOR POPS
FOR THE HAVRE ZONES BASED ON THE FACT THE BEARS PAW MOUNTAINS OFTEN ACT
AS AN ELEVATED HEAT SOURCE. I WILL ALSO BOOST POPS UP TO LOW SCATTERED
ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST. BASED ON MODEL SOUNDINGS...MOST AREAS ACROSS THE
SOUTHWEST ARE ALREADY APPROACHING THEIR CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES WITH
HIGHER LIFTED INDICES THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. MAIN THREAT ONCE AGAIN SHOULD
BE GUSTY WINDS.

GOUDSWARD

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...LITTLE CHANGE IN EXTENDED FROM PREVIOUS PACKAGE.
ERN PAC TROUGH SWINGS INTO PAC NW MONDAY AND ACROSS THE STATE MONDAY
NIGHT AND TUESDAY FOR A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. BY
WEDNESDAY UPPER RIDGE BUILDS AGAIN OVER THE PAC NW. CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAINS OVER SW ZONES GTF CWFA WEDNESDAY...OTHERWISE
WILL GO WITH MAINLY DRY AND SOMEWHAT WARMER CONDITIONS. BRITTON

BRITTON
CCF NUMBERS
GTF UU 080/048 080/050 072 06212
CTB BB 077/048 077/049 070 06212
HLN BB 082/050 079/048 076 06323
BZN BB 082/046 078/046 076 06323
WEY BB 077/036 075/038 072 06334
DLN BB 082/045 075/046 072 06334
HVR UU 085/048 083/053 078 06200
LWT UB 078/047 075/046 072 06223

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.