Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 65, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 21, 2001Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 21, 2001, 4:33 PM MDT for Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 42 min. 1 report 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
Jul 21, 2001, 4:33 PM MDT (22:33 UTC)
Expired
Jul 21, 2001, 5:15 PM MDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Judith Basin County, MT

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 21, 4:45 PM MDTHail 1Stanford, MTActual event location Stanford 8 N.

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
Jul 21, 3:15 PM MDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 32 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 2001-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 21 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 12:00Z on 2001-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -53 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
21 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-341 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1692 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
75 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 
WUUS55 KTFX 212234
SVRGTF

MTC045-212315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
433 PM MDT SAT JUL 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 515 PM MDT

* AT 429 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER CENTRAL JUDITH BASIN COUNTY...OR ABOUT 9
  MILES WEST OF STANFORD...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR STANFORD AT 450 PM MDT

THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING VERY LARGE HAIL.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM MDT SATURDAY EVENING
FOR NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA.

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

LAT...LON 4717 11069 4699 11053 4723 11008 4737 11032

BRUSDA

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 Jul 21, 3:00 PM MDT, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 3:00 PM MDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT SAT JUL 21 2001

ACCORDING TO MODELS LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE A CHANGE TO CURRENT
PATTERN OF SW FLOW ALOFT WITH SEVERE WEATHER EPISODES E OF THE
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. FOR TONIGHT...AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE ONCE AGAIN
OVER AREA AND EVEN A LITTLE MORE UNSTABLE THAN EARLY FRI AFTERNOON.
MSAS DATA INDICATES A MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AREA FROM SW TO N
CENTRAL MT AT 19Z. APPEARS TO BE ENOUGH SHEAR FOR ORGANIZED STORMS
BUT NOT NECESSARILY SUPERCELLS. THE PROBLEM LIKE FRIDAY NIGHT IS
THAT MODELS DO NOT INDICATE ANY SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVES AFFECTING
FORECAST AREA. STILL WITH QUITE AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL GO WITH HIGH
SCATTERED TO LOW LIKELY POPS OVER MOST OF AREA. IN THE FAR NW
WILL GO WITH SLIGHT CHANCE POPS AS THAT AREA IS FORECAST TO BE
IN A DRIER AIRMASS. FOR SUNDAY...ETA AND AVN DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY
WITH REMNANTS OF PAC NW UPPER TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE AREA. PREFER
THE SLOWER AND WEAKER ETA AS THE AVN/MRF HAS HAD A TENDENCY TO BE TOO
STRONG AND FAST WITH SHORTWAVES MOVING TOWARDS AN UPPER RIDGE. WILL
GO WITH 20 AND 30 PCT POPS AS MOISTURE AND LIFT AHEAD OF FEATURE ARE
NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE. FORECAST SOUNDINGS STILL INDICATE SOME
INSTABILITY DURING THE AFTERNOON BUT IT IS QUITE A BIT LESS THAN THAT
OF TODAY. FOR MONDAY...BOTH ETA AND AVN FORECAST A STRONGLY
POSITIVELY TILTED SHORTWAVE FROM SW SASK THROUGH NW MT TO ERN OREGON.
AREA IS MAINLY UNDER WLY CONFLUENT FLOW ALOFT WITH LITTLE IN THE WAY
OF SHORTWAVE ACTIVITY. AIRMASS IS ALSO NOT ALL THAT MOIST. WAS
TEMPTED TO GO DRY BUT MODELS DO INDICATE SOME WEAK INSTABILITY SO
WILL GO WITH BROADBRUSH 20 PCT POPS. AVN QPF FOR MON LOOKS OVERDONE.
BLANK

.EXTENDED...
ON TUESDAY THE TROUGH CONTINUES OVER THE WESTERN US WITH MINOR SHORT
WAVES MOVING THROUGH THE MEAN SW FLOW. THE TROUGH LOOKS LIKE IT
WILL MOVE EAST ON WEDNESDAY WITH YET ANOTHER TROUGH MOVING THROUGH
SOUTHERN CANADA ON THU/FRI. THOUGH THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE
WESTERLY BY THURSDAY...THE SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH ON THU/FRI WILL
KEEP A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON/EVENING STORMS IN FORECAST THROUGH FRI.
WITH NORTHWEST FLOW BY SAT...SHOULD BE DRYING OUT THEN.

CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 055/078 050/078 048 04522
CTB BB 050/075 047/075 045 04221
HLN BB 054/080 051/080 050 04522
BZN BB 051/080 047/080 047 04431
WEY BB 046/075 042/076 042 04432
DLN BB 049/077 043/077 044 04421
HVR EB 060/088 054/088 052 04532
LWT EB 056/077 048/077 046 04632=

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 8:08 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus67 min
Jul 21, 2:41 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau49 min
Jul 21, 3:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin43 min
Jul 21, 3:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus51 min
Jul 21, 4:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine45 min
Jul 21, 5:04 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus56 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.