Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Glasgow, MT

August 5, 2002Phillips County, Montana

NWS Glasgow, MT issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 2002, 9:30 PM MDT for Phillips County, Montana. It was in force for 60 min. 1 report 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, 9:30 PM MDT (03:30 UTC)
Expired: Aug 5, 2002, 10:30 PM MDT
In force: 60 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, 9:39 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 3.5 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.

106 
WFUS55 KGGW 060330
TORGGW
MTC071-060430-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
930 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 1030 PM MDT

* AT 929 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LANDUSKY...OR ABOUT 16 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF ZORTMAN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  LANDUSKY AT 1005 PM MDT
  ZORTMAN AT 1020 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.

THIS WARNING EXTENDS THE TORNADO WARNING PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE
AREA.

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

.END
77

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 5, 9:00 PM MDT, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 9:00 PM MDT, 30 minutes before

NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
900 PM MDT MON AUG 5 2002

.SHORT TERM...MOST OF NORTHEAST MONTANA SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE
ACTIVE WEATHER ATTM. AREA OF RAIN WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS JUST
BRUSHING SOUTHEAST CORNER ZONES. MORE POTENT THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE
RACING NORTH-NORTHEAST JUST TO THE WEST OF CWA. DISTINCT MESOCYCLONE
WITH A HISTORY OF TORNADOES AND BASEBALL SIZED HAIL IS ROTATING INTO
SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS COUNTY ATTM. PER COORDINATION WITH SPC...ISOLATED
NATURE OF STORM DOES NOT WARRANT REISSUE OF WEATHER WATCH FOR NOW.

AS FOR ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM THREAT TONIGHT...ATMOSPHERE REMAINS
STRONGLY CAPPED AT 800 MB. MESOETA SHOWING A SMALL VORT MAX ROTATING
OVER CWA IN SOUTHWEST UPPER FLOW BY 06Z WHICH MAY ERODE CAP
ENOUGH TO PROVIDE REQUIRED LIFT FOR OVERNIGHT THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT. ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE WITH DEW POINTS IN
60S. WILL KEEP GOING CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN ZONES BUT REMOVE
SEVERE WORDING...EXCEPT FOR PHILLIPS COUNTY.  WINDS HAVE INCREASED
THIS EVENING ENOUGH TO ISSUE LAKE WIND ADVISORY OVER FORT PECK LAKE
FOR TONIGHT. FELTGEN

.LONG TERM...EXTENDED AVN PROGRESSIVE WITH TROUGH...TAKING INTO
WESTERN DAKOTAS BY LATE FRIDAY. CHANCE OF A FEW SHOWERS LINGERING
OVER EASTERN ZONES FRIDAY. ELSE...FLAT UPPER RIDGE BUILDS INTO
WESTERN CONUS SATURDAY. TROUGH EXPECTED TO DIG SOUTH FROM CANADA
LATE SUNDAY WITH COLD FRONT...BRINGING NEXT ROUND OF PRECIPITATION
LINGERING INTO MONDAY. TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO BE NEAR NORMAL.   DNS

KGGW TTT 062/087 062/084 059/083 86424333
     BBTB 059/078 054/084 053/084 053/084 8611000320
KGDV TTT 063/089 063/086 060/085 86424333
     BBTB 060/080 054/085 055/084 055/084 8621001330

.GGW...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 5, 5:50 PM MDT, 3 hours 40 minutes before

MTZ016>027-059>062-061200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
550 PM MDT MON AUG 5 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE LATE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...

STRONG SOUTHEASTERLY SURFACE WINDS HAVE TRANSPORTED WARMER AND MORE
UNSTABLE AIR INTO NORTHEAST MONTANA...AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE
APPROACHES FROM THE SOUTHWEST. THIS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...COMBINED
WITH STRONG WINDS IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE HAVE
CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHERN MONTANA THIS
EVENING ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY...AND MOVE NORTHEAST INTO NORTHEAST
MONTANA THROUGH THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. BECAUSE OF THE
DEGREE OF INSTABILITY PRESENT...STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE
POSSIBLE WITH STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO
POSSIBLE...DUE TO HIGH AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA SOURCES FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

KLEINSASSER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 5, 8:37 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GGW	Phillips	53 min
Aug 5, 8:41 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	GGW	Phillips	49 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.