Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 81, NWS Great Falls, MT
NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 26, 2002, 7:55 PM MDT for Blaine County, Montana. It was in force for 50 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 26, 2002, 7:55 PM MDT (01:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 26, 2002, 8:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Great Falls, MT
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Blaine County, MT
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
Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 177 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
- 30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -146 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2271 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 96 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
511 WUUS55 KTFX 270155 SVRTFX MTC005-270245- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 754 PM MDT FRI JUL 26 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CENTRAL BLAINE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA * UNTIL 845 PM MDT * AT 746 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF ZURICH...OR ABOUT 8 MILES NORTHEAST OF CHINOOK...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... 3 MILES NORTHEAST OF ZURICH AT 815 PM MDT VERY LARGE HAIL TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER IS POSSIBLE WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM...PUT YOUR CAR IN A GARAGE AND MOVE TO A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. HEAVY RAINS MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES. AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THEY MAY BE WASHED OUT. WATER LEVELS OF SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS MAY ALSO RISE...THEREFORE SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF THREATENED BY FLOOD WATERS. STRONG WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN GREAT FALLS. LAT...LON 4875 10905 4864 10922 4847 10899 4862 10878
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 26, 3:15 PM MDT, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 3:15 PM MDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 315 PM MDT FRI JUL 26 2002 .SHORT TERM...SURFACE COLD FRONT OVER PACIFIC NORTHWEST WITH ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE TO SWEEP ACROSS AREA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. AVN MODEL IS FASTER AND MORE IN LINE WITH UKMET/CAN MODELS THAN THE ETA. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING ACROSS CENTRAL AND SW MT THIS AFTERNOON. MAIN CONCERN WITH CONVECTION IS STRONG GUSTY WINDS AS AMS IS DRY AT THE LOW LEVELS. SURFACE FRONT COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH KGTF AROUND MIDNIGHT AND WILL KEEP SCT POPS SW AND LOW POPS CENTRAL MT THROUGH SATURDAY AS UPPER TROUGH SWEEPS THROUGH WITH CYCLONIC NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AND COLD AIR ADVECTION ALOFT FOR INCREASED INSTABILITIES. SUNDAY AND MONDAY WILL BE DRY WITH TEMPERATURES A BIT WARMER UNDER A WEST-NORTHWEST ZONAL FLOW. WILLIAMSON DC .EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS FALLING MORE INTO LINE TODAY. EXTENDED AVN BACKING OFF FROM UPPER RIDGE OVER STATE TO MORE OF A ZONAL FLOW FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. A WEAK DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH SOUTHWEST MONTANA ON WEDNESDAY FOR A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON/EVENING SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS THERE AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL MONTANA. AN UPPER TROUGH DIGS OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...BRINGING A MORE MOIST AND UNSTABLE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. A STRONGER DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL MONTANA THURSDAY FOR A CHANCE OF ACTIVITY AGAIN. THE FLOW IS NOT AS MOIST ON FRIDAY WITH ONLY A WEAK DISTURBANCE MOVING OVERHEAD...FOR ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF ACTIVITY. WITH THE SCATTERED ACTIVITY...TEMPERATURES WILL ONLY SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE 80S AND LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S AND 50S. COULSTON .CCF NUMBERS GTF EB 058/078 054/080 054 20322 UUBBB 082/052 085/055 088/053 085/052 088 10000022221 CTB EB 054/074 050/078 051 20322 UUUBB 079/049 082/052 085/050 082/050 085 10000001111 HLN EB 055/077 052/080 052 20332 UUBBB 084/051 087/053 089/055 087/055 090 10000022321 BZN EB 051/078 050/080 051 20332 UUBBB 081/049 084/051 086/053 085/053 087 10000033442 WEY EB 044/077 040/075 042 20332 UUBBB 075/042 080/043 082/044 082/044 082 10000033442 DLN EB 052/076 050/078 050 20222 UUBBB 080/051 085/052 088/052 086/052 088 10000022332 HVR EB 060/080 055/080 052 20322 UUUBB 084/053 088/055 091/057 091/057 091 10000000221 LWT EB 056/075 049/076 050 20332 UUBBB 078/051 083/052 087/055 087/055 087 10000022332 .TFX...NONE.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Great Falls, MT issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 12:00 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TFX | Gallatin | 45 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.