Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 71, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 23, 2001Meagher County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 2001, 4:56 PM MDT for Meagher County, Montana. It was in force for 34 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 23, 2001, 4:56 PM MDT (22:56 UTC)
Expired
Jul 23, 2001, 5:30 PM MDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Meagher County, MT

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 23, 4:56 PM MDTHail 1Martinsdale, MTActual event location Martinsdale 10 N...Slight damage to automobiles (monetary amount of damage unknown).

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 nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 104 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 2001-07-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2001-07-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -61 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1102 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
38 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.

668 
WUUS55 KTFX 232256
SVRGTF
MTC059-232330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
456 PM MDT MON JUL 23 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME EAST CENTRAL MEAGHER COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 530 PM MDT

* AT 455 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTH OF MARTINSDALE...OR ABOUT 24
  MILES WEST OF HARLOWTON...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

LARGE HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER IS 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.

LAT...LON 4662 11043 4642 11039 4642 11017 4665 11021

$$

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 23, 3:00 PM MDT, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 3:00 PM MDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT MON JUL 23 2001

POSITIVELY TILTED UPPER TROUGH IS FORECAST BY THE MODELS TO
EXTEND FROM NW MT TO ERN OREGON AT 00Z TUE. NRN PORTION OF THE UPPER
TROUGH WILL WORK ITS WAY THROUGH THE NRN ZONES TONIGHT AND THROUGH
THE SRN ZONES LATER TONIGHT AND EARLY TUE MORNING. TUE NIGHT A
SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN A WLY FLOW ALOFT IS FORECAST BY THE MODELS TO
SKIRT THE NRN ZONES. FOR WED WSW FLOW ALOFT IS OVER AREA. AN EVEN
WEAKER SHORTWAVE MAY AFFECT THE NRN ZONES WHILE THE AVN HAS A
SHORTWAVE AFFECTING THE FAR SRN ZONES. CHECK OF CROSS SECTIONS
SHOWS A FAIRLY DRY AIRMASS AND WITH FLOW ALOFT GENERALLY WLY DO NOT
SEE MUCH THREAT FOR PRECIPITATION AFTER TONIGHT. A SHORTWAVE OVER
SW MT AT 18Z MON WL MOV INTO S CENTRAL MT LATER MON AFTERNOON.
MODELS INDICATE A FAIRLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER SW AND CENTRAL MT WITH
CAPES ROUGHLY IN THE 500 JOULES/KG RANGE. WILL GO WITH 20 AND 30
PCT RANGE FOR THIS AREA. FOR TUE ETA/AVN HAVE A SURFACE CONVERGENCE
AXIS OVER CENTRAL MT WITH LIFTED INDICES OF MINUS 2 AS FAR W AS NEAR
HVR/LWT. WILL GO WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS FOR
BLAINE AND FERGUS COUNTIES. TO MAKE A MORE SEAMLESS FORECAST WITH
BIL WILL MENTION A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS FOR
GALLATIN COUNTY. FOR WED ETA KEEPS THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS EAST
OF THE FORECAST AREA BUT AVN HAS MINUS 2 LIFTED INDEX ISOPLETH OVER
FERGUS COUNTY WITH SURFACE CONVERGENCE AXIS FROM BZN TO GTF TO W OF
HVR. CONSENSUS AMONGST THE FORECASTERS WAS TO GO WITH THE ETA
SOLUTION SO WILL GO DRY.

EXTENDED...CWA COMES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT
DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST. CONTINUED CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION DAY 3...PRIMARILY OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE
CWA. BY DAY 4 FLOW ALOFT BACKS A BIT AS UPPER TROF BEGINS TO
APPROACH THE WEST COAST. ENOUGH OF A DOWNSLOPE TO FEND OFF MOST
PRECIPITATION.UPPER TROF SWINGS INLAND DAY 5 WITH INCREASING
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. SURFACE GRADIENTS INDICATE MODERATE WEST
WINDS WHICH SHOULD INHIBIT ANY PRECIPITATION NEAR THE MOUNTAINS.
TROF WEAKENS AS IT PUSHES ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER DAY 6 WITH
CONTINUED MODERATE WESTERLY WINDS AT THE SURFACE. DAY 7 LOOKS DRY
AND COOLER WITH A RETURN TO ZONAL FLOW ALOFT.

CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 052/082 052/082 052 04211
CTB BB 048/078 048/078 048 04111
HLN BB 052/082 053/082 052 04311
BZN BB 049/082 049/082 048 04211
WEY BB 038/078 038/078 040 04221
DLN BB 047/079 047/079 047 04211
HVR BB 054/085 055/083 054 04111
LWT BB 050/080 050/080 050 04321

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.