Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 50, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 14, 2002Cascade County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 14, 2002, 6:13 PM MDT for Cascade County, Montana. It was in force for 47 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
Jul 14, 2002, 6:13 PM MDT (00:13 UTC)
Expired
Jul 14, 2002, 7:00 PM MDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cascade County, MT

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 14, 6:20 PM MDTThunderstorm Wind 57 MGreat Falls, MTA severe thunderstorm produced a 66 mph wind gust at the NWS office in Great Falls. Hail up to 0.75 inches was reported just south of town. Numerous power lines were knocked down, and several trees were uprooted.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 14, 3:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 61 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2002-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1325 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, Great_falls, MT at 00:00Z on 2002-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1325 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3139 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

695 
WUUS55 KTFX 150013
SVRTFX
MTC013-150100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
611 PM MDT SUN JUL 14 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL CASCADE COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF GREAT FALLS

* UNTIL 700 PM MDT

* AT 605 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GREAT FALLS...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  4 MILES NORTHWEST OF GREAT FALLS AT 625 PM MDT
  3 MILES NORTHWEST OF BLACK EAGLE AT 635 PM MDT

THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN 
DIAMETER...AND WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN GREAT FALLS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM MDT SUNDAY
EVENING FOR WESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4748 11164 4735 11146 4753 11102 4767 11128

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 14, 3:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 14, 3:00 PM MDT, 3 hours 13 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 PM MDT SUN JUL 14 2002

.SHORT TERM...INCOMING PACIFIC LOW PRESSURE TROUGH COLLIDING WITH
STRONG...HOT HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE THAT HAS BEEN ENTRENCHED OVER THE
STATE THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY INCREASES LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING AS COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH TROUGH
PUSHES THROUGH...AND RIGHT REAR QUAD OF JET MAX BECOMES SITUATED OVER
CWA. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW INVERTED V CONFIGURATION WITH
PRECIPITABLE WATER OVER AN INCH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SO EXPECT
SOME THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE WITH STRONG WIND...ALONG WITH
THE POSSIBILITY OF BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. FLOW BECOMES WEST-SOUTHWEST
MONDAY WITH A COUPLE OF SMALL DISTURBANCES PUSHING THROUGH. RESULT
SHOULD BE PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA. BEHIND COLD
FRONT...TEMPERATURES TO BE 5 TO 10 DEGREES COOLER MONDAY WITH
ISOLATED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY SOUTHWEST AS A DISTURBANCE
PUSHES THROUGH. ANOTHER PACIFIC TROUGH APPROACHES THE NORTHWEST COAST
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...AGAIN TURNING THE FLOW TO THE SOUTHWEST.
EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES WILL AGAIN BE STEERED ACROSS THE CWA FOR
ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS.

.EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS AGAIN SHOWING A LITTLE CONSISTENCY
BUT NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT HIGH CONFIDENCE. WILL NOT MAKE ANY
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST. WEAK RIDGING
THURSDAY OVER THE CWA WITH ENOUGH SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT FOR ISOLATED
CONVECTION. ZONAL FLOW ALOFT PERSISTS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH
ISOLATED CONVECTION STILL A POSSIBILITY. AN UPPER TROF MOVES
ONSHORE OF THE WEST COAST SUNDAY WITH AN INCREASING BACKING FLOW
OVER THE CWA. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN SLIGHTLY ABOVE SEASONAL
NORMS.

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 060/092 055/092 053 03411
    BBBBB 088/053 087/053 088/053 090/053 090 23332222222
CTB BB 055/088 052/088 050 03211
    BBBBB 084/050 084/050 086/050 088/050 088 13322111122
HLN BB 062/094 057/092 056 03411
    BBBBB 090/054 087/054 088/054 090/054 090 33332222222
BZN BB 057/092 054/090 053 03422
    BBBBB 088/050 086/050 087/050 090/050 090 33332222222
WEY BB 047/086 043/085 042 03422
    BBBBB 083/042 083/042 084/042 086/042 086 33333333333
DLN BB 058/090 055/088 054 03422
    BBBBB 086/051 085/051 086/051 090/051 090 33332222222
HVR BB 062/094 058/092 056 03411
    BBBBB 089/055 086/055 088/055 091/055 091 13332211122
LWT BB 063/090 055/090 055 03421
    BBBBB 087/055 086/055 087/055 090/055 090 13332222222=

.TFX...RED FLAG WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR FIRE
       ZONES 112...114...115...116...117...118.
       SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR WESTERN AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 14, 6:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBroadwater, Cascade, Lewis and Clark, Meagher57 min
Jul 14, 6:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau57 min
Jul 14, 6:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Meagher38 min
Jul 14, 7:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin48 min
Jul 14, 7:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Teton54 min
Jul 14, 7:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBeaverhead57 min
Jul 14, 7:55 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau35 min
Jul 14, 7:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus, Judith Basin61 min
Jul 14, 8:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Hill57 min
Jul 14, 8:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBeaverhead62 min
Jul 14, 8:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine, Fergus62 min
Jul 14, 9:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine49 min
Jul 14, 10:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLewis and Clark50 min
Jul 14, 10:47 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine43 min
Jul 15, 3:08 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBroadwater37 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.