Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 30, NWS Missoula, MT
NWS Missoula, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 2002, 6:45 PM MDT for Missoula County, Montana. It was in force for 30 min. 3 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 4, 2002, 6:45 PM MDT (00:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 4, 2002, 7:15 PM MDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Missoula, MT
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Missoula County, MT
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 6:52 PM MDT | Hail 0.88 | Missoula, MT | |
| Aug 4, 6:52 PM MDT | Thunderstorm Wind 54 E | Missoula, MT | |
| Aug 4, 6:56 PM MDT | Hail 0.88 | Missoula, 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 severe thunderstorm 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
Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 205 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1794 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 2 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 43 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
251 WUUS55 KMSO 050045 SVRMSO MTC063-050115- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 645 PM MDT SUN AUG 4 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CENTRAL MISSOULA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MONTANA * UNTIL 715 PM MDT * AT 645 PM MDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES SOUTH OF MISSOULA...MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE... OVER MISSOULA...EAST MISSOULA BY 650 PM MDT 5 MILES WEST OF BONNER AT 655 PM MDT LARGE HAIL...POSSIBLY COVERING THE GROUND IS LIKELY WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 50 MPH ARE 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. LAT...LON 4676 11412 4673 11399 4702 11360 4714 11399
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 Aug 4, 2:25 PM MDT, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 2:25 PM MDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
225 PM MDT SUN AUG 4 2002
.SHORT TERM...UPDATES TO ZFP AND SFP IN STORE.
CURRENTLY...A COUPLE OF STORM LEFT IN THE WESTERN MONTANA CWA AFTER
SCATTERED GARDEN VARIETY THUNDERSTORMS FROM SALMON TO BUTTE...AND AN
IMPRESSIVE STORM THAT TRAVELED NORTH THROUGH THE BITTERROOT VALLEY.
THIS STORM PRODUCED WIDESPREAD SMALL AND LARGE HAIL...COVERING THE
GROUND IN MANY LOCATIONS FROM HAMILTON TO MISSOULA. SCATTERED SHOWERS
AND A FEW EMBEDDED RUMBLES OF THUNDER WERE DEVELOPING IN THE
KALISPELL AREA...AND MORE SCATTERED SHOWERS IN EASTERN OREGON/WA.
THESE SHOWERS ARE WELL AHEAD OF SLOW MOVING COOL FRONT/BATCH OF
DEEPER MOISTURE IN MID LEVEL (H7) TROUGH/CONVERGENT REGION. THIS
FEATURE WILL PRODUCE THE BEST PRECIP CHANCES FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE
NIGHT...MAINLY FROM MISSOULA NORTHWARD. THE SOUTHEAST CWA WILL SEE
ONLY SLIGHT CHANCES FOR SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS. THE STRONGEST
SHORTWAVE HAS SHIFTED EAST OF THE DIVIDE...AND ONLY WEAK DUSTURBANCES
WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE FLOW...OVER TOP OF LOW LEVEL BOUNDARY THAT
WILL ONLY BE MAKING SLOW PROGRESS EASTWARD.
LOOK FOR SKIES TO BECOME CLOUDY ACROSS THE NW CWA WITH SCATTERED
SHOWERS DEVELOPING...AND POSSIBLY AN EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORM. WILL
HAVE TO BUMP MIN TEMPS UPWARD SEVERAL DEGREES FOR WESTERN MONTANA
TONIGHT DUE TO CLOUDS. NORTH CENTRALIDAHO TEMPS LOOK OK FOR FRONTAL
PASSAGE NEAR THAT AREA BY MORNING. WILL ALSO THROW IN SOME PATCHY
FOG FOR THE BITTERROOT VALLEY OVERNIGHT DUE TO VERY GOOD RAINS IN
MANY AREAS...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE VALLEY. DICKSON
.LONG TERM...AVN AND MRF ARE SLOWER IN MOVING THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
OUT OF THE REGION. WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ON THURSDAY. BOTH MODELS FORM A CUT OFF LOW AS THE
TROUGH MOVES INTO CENTRAL MONTANA ON FRIDAY...WITH THE MRF HAVING THE
CENTER OF THE LOW FURTHER NORTH. THEN BY FRIDAY NIGHT THE MRF DROPS
THE LOW TO THE SOUTHEAST...PREFER THE AVN LOCATION OF THE LOW ON
FRIDAY...THEREFORE WILL HOLD ON TO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE
EASTERN ZONES FRIDAY...AND DRY WEST. FLAT RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE AREA
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...FOR DRY CONDITION. KOLATA
.MSO...NONE.
...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EBB 055/076 048/078 048/080 39433333
UUUU 047/081 049/082 049/084 051/086 3911000000
FCA EBB 054/072 046/074 046/075 39433333
UUUU 045/076 047/080 047/082 049/084 3911000000
POL EBB 056/073 051/075 050/076 39433333
UUUU 049/077 051/081 051/083 053/087 3911000000
MSO BBB 056/075 047/076 048/076 39333333
UUUU 047/079 049/082 049/084 051/088 3911000000
HMM BBB 055/074 049/075 046/077 39233333
UUUU 045/078 047/081 047/083 049/087 3911000000
BTM BBB 049/073 043/074 044/076 39133322
BBUU 044/076 046/079 046/081 048/080 3911100000
ORO BBB 056/075 053/078 054/080 39433333
UUUU 054/083 058/085 058/087 060/096 3911000000
GRV BBB 052/071 048/073 049/076 39433333
UUUU 049/079 053/080 053/082 055/088 3911000000
SMN BBB 054/077 045/076 046/079 39133322
BUUU 046/080 048/081 048/083 050/087 3911000000In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 2:57 PM MDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before
IDZ006-009-010-MTZ005>007-043-042130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 256 PM MDT (156 PM PDT) SUN AUG 4 2002 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NOT IN EFFECT FOR FLATHEAD... POWELL...DEER LODGE AND SILVER BOW COUNTIES... THE WATCH THAT WAS JUST ISSUED MISTAKENLY PUT THESE COUNTIES IN THE WATCH. ALTHOUGH THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED...THEY ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THEREFORE THERE IS NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THESE COUNTIES THIS EVENING.
Local storm report, Aug 4, 5:42 PM MDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
542 PM MDT SUN AUG 4 2002
TIME(MDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION......
0528 PM 4 SE HAMILTON MT 1 INCH HAIL
08/04/02 RAVALLI REPORTED BY NWS SPOTTER
0531 PM 3 S HAMILTON MT 1 INCH HAIL
08/04/02 RAVALLI REPORTED BY NWS SPOTTERThe office that day
Everything else NWS Missoula, MT issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 6:02 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MSO | Ravalli | 28 min |
| Aug 4, 6:21 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MSO | Missoula | 24 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2002Every 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.