Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Glasgow, MT

August 5, 2002Phillips County, Montana

NWS Glasgow, MT issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 2002, 8:37 PM MDT for Phillips County, Montana. It was in force for 53 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 5, 2002, 8:37 PM MDT (02:37 UTC)
Expired: Aug 5, 2002, 9:30 PM MDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Glasgow, MT
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Phillips County, MT

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 5, 9:15 PM MDT	Tornado F0	Landusky, MT	Spotter reported a tornado touched the ground briefly 13 miles south of Landusky.
Aug 5, 9:39 PM MDT	Hail 0.75	Landusky, MT

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

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 141 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 961 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -150 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 895 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 195 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 199 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 2.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS55 KGGW 060237
TORGGW
MTC071-060330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
836 PM MDT MON AUG 5 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GLASGOW HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN PHILLIPS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MONTANA

* UNTIL 930 PM MDT

* AT 832 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 28 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LANDUSKY...OR ABOUT 33 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF ZORTMAN...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  LANDUSKY AT 930 PM MDT

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4791 10886 4775 10889 4765 10864 4762 10781
          4830 10761 4835 10838 4800 10844 4794 10861

.END
77

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 5, 8:41 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GGW	Phillips	49 min
Aug 5, 9:30 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GGW	Phillips	60 min
Aug 5, 10:26 PM MDT	Flash Flood Warning	GGW	Phillips	6 hr
Aug 5, 10:31 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GGW	Phillips	59 min
Aug 6, 5:45 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GGW	Petroleum	60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.