Alert archive / Montana / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS Billings, MT

August 22, 2002Powder River County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this flash flood warning at Aug 22, 2002, 7:42 PM MDT for Powder River County, Montana. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 22, 2002, 7:42 PM MDT (01:42 UTC)
Expired
Aug 22, 2002, 9:45 PM MDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Whole counties

County Powder River County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 237 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:42 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

Rapid City, SD (KUNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 262 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, Rapid City, SD at 00:00Z on 2002-08-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1700 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, Rapid City, SD at 00:00Z on 2002-08-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 21 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1700 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1735 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
96 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS55 KBYZ 230142
FFWBYZ
MTC075-230345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
740 PM MDT THU AUG 22 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN POWDER RIVER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA

* UNTIL 945 PM MDT

* AT 740 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY    
  HEAVY RAIN OVER THE WARNED AREA.

* SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IN THE
  WARNED AREA.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT. NEVER ATTEMPT TO CROSS HIGH WATER IN A VEHICLE OR ON FOOT.

HAIL UP TO 1/2 INCH IS ALSO LIKELY.

$$

LAT...LON 4546 10590 4500 10592 4501 10625 4549 10623

SCARLETT

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 22, 2:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 2:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 12 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
230 PM MDT THU AUG 22 2002

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR FRI AND SAT...
UPPER LOW OVER NORTHERN IDAHO SENDING MOISTURE INTO SOUTHERN MONTANA.
LOW LEVEL EASTERLY FLOW HAS KEPT DEWPOINTS IN THE 50S OVER SOUTH CENTRAL
AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA. SHORTWAVE WORKING INTO NORTHWEST WYOMING KICKING
OFF CONVECTION OVER SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA AT THE MOMENT. FLOW LEVELS
REMAIN WEAK...SO STORMS SHOULD BE SLOW MOVING. POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN
THERE...AND WILL INCLUDE IN THE ZONES. MESO RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEAST
TONIGHT. FLOW SHOULD SEND STORMS MORE NORTH...SO WILL KEEP THE POPS LOW
OVER THE SOUTHEAST. UPPER LOW TO RETROGRADE INTO EASTERN OREGON FRIDAY.
BUT THE FLOW FOR OUR FORECAST AREA DOES NOT CHANGE...HOWEVER. SHOULD BE
SIMILAR TO TODAY SO WILL CONTINUE TO PAINT SCATTERED POPS IN. FLOW
REMAINS WEAK SO WILL AGAIN INCLUDE HEAVY RAIN FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. WILL COOL THINGS DOWN A BIT THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS
AFTERNOON CLOUDS AND SHOWERS SHOULD HOLD THINGS DOWN. THE SOUTHEAST
SHOULD BE WARMER WITH LESS CHANCE OF CONVECTION. HUMPHREY

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR SUN...MON...TUE...WED...THU...
SUNDAY...WHAT IS LEFT OF CLOSED LOW SLIDES INTO SOUTHEAST MONTANA. THIS
BRINGS DRIER WESTERLY FLOW TO LOW LEVELS. PATTERN STILL LOOKS UNSETTLED
SO WILL MOVE POPS DOWN INTO SLIGHT CHANCE CATEGORY. TEMPERATURES SHOULD
COOL SLIGHTLY FROM SATURDAY. MONDAY AVN FAIRLY CONSISTENT THAT LOW
REFORMS/MOVES FURTHER NORTH INTO NORTHEAST MONTANA. THIS BRINGS MORE
WESTERLY FLOW INTO LOW LEVELS WITH BEST LIFT PROGGED OVER NORTHEAST
MONTANA. WILL COVER THIS WITH SCATTERED POPS ACROSS OUR NORTHERN ZONES
AND DRY ACROSS THE SOUTH. TEMPERATURES REMAIN NEARLY THE SAME TO
SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN SUNDAY. TUESDAY...AVN A BIT SLOWER SWINGING TROUGH
BACK TO THE SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA. AT THIS TIME WILL KEEP POPS OUT AS
LIFT LOOKS PRETTY WEAK. WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES COOL AGAIN AND ONLY UP
CLOUD COVER FORECAST. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT
THAT BROAD RIDGE WITH FASTER WESTERLY FLOW BUILDS IN FOR TEMPERATURES
WARMING INTO THE 80S. RASCH

    FRI     SAT     SUN     MON     TUE     WED     THU
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 054/082 054/080 054/078 052/078 050/079 049/083 052/084
    44/T    43/T    32/T    20/E    00/E    00/E    00/E
LVM 047/080 047/078 047/076 048/076 045/077 044/081 047/082
    33/T    43/T    32/T    20/E    00/E    00/E    00/E
HDN 052/084 052/082 052/080 050/080 047/081 046/084 049/085
    44/T    43/T    32/T    20/E    00/E    00/E    00/E
MLS 056/085 058/083 058/081 054/081 053/082 052/083 055/084
    22/T    23/T    32/T    23/T    30/E    00/E    00/E
4BQ 055/084 057/082 057/080 053/080 053/081 052/081 055/082
    33/T    33/T    32/T    20/E    00/E    00/E    00/E
BHK 053/083 055/081 055/079 051/079 050/080 049/079 052/080
    22/T    23/T    32/T    23/T    30/E    00/E    00/E
SHR 049/084 049/082 049/080 049/080 046/081 045/079 048/080
    44/T    43/T    32/T    20/E    00/E    00/E    00/E

.BYZ...
MT...NONE.
WY...NONE.

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Montana, 2002Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.