Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 89, NWS Great Falls, MT

August 4, 2001Cascade County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 2001, 4:43 PM MDT for Cascade County, Montana. It was in force for 32 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
Aug 4, 2001, 4:43 PM MDT (22:43 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 2001, 5:15 PM MDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Cascade County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 48 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:45 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 4, 2:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 41 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 2001-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 38 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 2001-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -70 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
38 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-272 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2483 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-70 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-33 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 042243
SVRGTF

MTC013-042315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
443 PM MDT SAT AUG 4 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL CASCADE COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA
  
* UNTIL 515 PM MDT

* AT 442 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER MONARCH...OR ABOUT 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  GREAT FALLS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

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 700 PM MDT
SATURDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4720 11107 4704 11095 4712 11072 4726 11080

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 Aug 4, 3:00 PM MDT, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 3:00 PM MDT, 1 hour 43 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
3 PM MDT SAT AUG 4 2001

THUNDERSTORMS FORMING ALONG BACK EDGE OF DRY SLOT...PER WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY...A FAVORED LOCATION.  IN COORD WITH SPC AND OTHER MT
OFFICES...SVR TSTM WATCH ISSUED TILL 7 PM.  AXIS OF S/W STILL WEST OF
MT AND WILL TRAVERSE CWA BETWEEN 00-06Z.  THREAT OF DEEP CONVECTION
CONTINUES... NOW TILL ABOUT 01Z...THEN MAINLY SCATTERED SHOWERS TILL
MIDNIGHT. BEYOND THAT...MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT.  NEXT COUPLE OF
DAYS...UPPER RIDGE BUILDS BACK INTO MT....FLOW BECOMES DRIER AND MORE
WESTERLY.  QUITE WARM WITH LITTLE THREAT OF PCPN.  MIELKE.

EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION...
RIDGE WILL CONTINUE WITH SOME DECREASE IN HEIGHTS BY WED. DO EXPECT
A LITTLE MORE TROFFING BY LATER IN THE PERIOD...SO THIS SHOULD KEEP
IT WARM THROUGH TUESDAY. WITH THE DECREASE IN HEIGHTS...TEMPS WILL
COOLE INTO THE 70S AND 80S WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS/TSTMS.

CCF NUMBERS
GTF UU 056 087 053 090 055 014001
CTB UU 052 082 052 085 053 013001
HLN UU 055 088 055 092 055 014101
BZN UU 052 090 052 093 054 014001
WEY UU 044 082 042 085 045 015111
DLN UU 048 086 050 089 051 014001
HVR UU 062 090 057 095 057 014001
LWT UU 056 087 056 090 056 014201

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 1:17 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBeaverhead28 min
Aug 4, 1:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Lewis and Clark47 min
Aug 4, 2:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade60 min
Aug 4, 2:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJefferson27 min
Aug 4, 3:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLewis and Clark63 min
Aug 4, 3:39 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin66 min
Aug 4, 3:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade26 min
Aug 4, 3:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBroadwater31 min
Aug 4, 4:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXMeagher30 min
Aug 4, 4:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade51 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.