Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 19, NWS Missoula, MT

July 13, 2002Missoula County, Montana

NWS Missoula, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 13, 2002, 9:40 PM MDT for Missoula County, Montana. It was in force for 50 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jul 13, 2002, 9:40 PM MDT (03:40 UTC)
Expired: Jul 13, 2002, 10:30 PM MDT
In force: 50 min
Issued by: NWS Missoula, MT
Area: Whole counties

County Missoula County, MT

The radar

The Missoula radar (KMSX), 5 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:42 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 13, 9:40 PM MDT	Thunderstorm Wind 53 M	Missoula Southwest, 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

Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 201 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: 1234 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -142 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2917 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 86 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

496 
WUUS55 KMSO 140340
SVRMSO
MTC063-140430-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
940 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL MISSOULA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 1030 PM MDT

* AT 940 PM MDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
  BONNER...OR 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF MISSOULA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE...
  4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SEELEY LAKE AT 1030 PM MDT

DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM. LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING
AND HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION...GO INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...MOVE TO A WELL PROTECTED AREA.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 13, 8:45 PM MDT, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 13, 8:45 PM MDT, 55 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
845 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 2002

.SHORT TERM...NO UPDATES PLANNED THIS EVENING. CONVECTITELY ACTIVE
SCENARIO CONTINUES TO PLAY OUT THIS EVENING ACROSS THE CWA. HOT DRY
CONDITIONS NEAR THE SURFACE WITH MID/HIGH LEVEL SUB-MOISTURE ARCHING
NORTH AROUND A STRONG UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER UTAH. SOME OF THE
HIGHEST CAPE VALUES SEEN IN WHILE PAINTED ACROSS NORTHWEST MONTANA
THIS EVENING. POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR ISOLATED SEVERE TONIGHT AS A WAVE
OF ENERGY SWEEPS ACROSS THE THE REGION OF HIGHEST CAPE AND THET-E
RICH AIR. WILL ALLOW RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING AND GUSTY
WINDS TO EXPIRE ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF MONTANA AS LIGHTNING
ACTIVITY DECREASES.

LATEST MESOETA SHOWS THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTING EAST AND A SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPING OVER THE REGION. A WEAK DISTURBANCE MOVES
THROUGH EARLY IN THE DAY SUNDAY WITH ANOTHER DISTURBANCE MOVING
THROUGH FARTHER SOUTH LATER IN THE DAY. ADDED LIFT WILL BE PROVIDED
BY THE RIGHT-ENTRANCE REGION OF A JET JUST AHEAD OF AN UPPER TROUGH
MAKING LANDFALL IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS PROMISES TO BE ANOTHER
CONVECTIVELY ACTIVE PERIOD FOR SUNDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING. MSJ

.LONG TERM...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE ENERGY
WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE TO A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION IN THE
FORECAST THROUGH THURSDAY. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY THE ENERGY IS DIRECTED
MORE IN THE SOUTHERN ZONES SO WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THERE.
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN STEADY AROUND 90 THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD.
GILCHRIST

.MSO...RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING/GUSTY WINDS IN FIRE WEATHER
       ZONES 108 109 110 111 TIL 04Z TONIGHT.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB BUB 062/090 055/090 052/091 28420000
     BBUU 051/091 052/091 053/092 054/092 3311110000
FCA BUB 060/088 050/085 049/086 28330000
     BBUU 049/086 049/086 050/088 051/088 3322110000
POL BUB 063/087 058/083 054/084 28330000
     BBUU 053/085 055/085 056/085 057/085 3321110000
MSO BBB 062/090 055/088 056/091 28231001
     BBBB 053/091 053/091 054/092 056/092 3321211111
HMM BBB 065/090 056/088 053/089 28231011
     BBBB 052/091 053/091 054/092 056/092 3321211111
BTM BBB 056/090 053/086 052/086 28242112
     BBBB 048/087 049/087 050/089 051/089 3331211111
ORO BUB 070/092 063/091 062/093 28420011
     BUUU 059/093 061/093 062/095 063/095 3331100000
GRV BUB 067/088 057/087 055/087 28320011
     BBUU 052/088 054/088 055/090 057/090 3331100000
SMN BBB 058/094 053/090 053/088 28232112
     BBBB 050/091 051/090 052/092 053/092 3321111111

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 13, 9:06 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Flathead, Lake, Mineral	24 min
Jul 13, 9:10 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Mineral	20 min
Jul 13, 10:20 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Flathead	40 min
Jul 13, 10:21 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Missoula	39 min
Jul 14, 4:54 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MSO	Powell	51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.