Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 82, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 27, 2002Gallatin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 27, 2002, 12:00 PM MDT for Gallatin County, Montana. It was in force for 45 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 27, 2002, 12:00 PM MDT (18:00 UTC)
Expired: Jul 27, 2002, 12:45 PM MDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Great Falls, MT
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Gallatin 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 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 203 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: 9 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1136 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 96 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

752 
WUUS55 KTFX 271800
SVRTFX
MTC031-271845-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1200 PM MDT SAT JUL 27 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL GALLATIN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BOZEMAN

* UNTIL 1245 PM MDT

* AT 1158 AM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES WEST OF BOZEMAN...MOVING EAST AT 25
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BOZEMAN AT 1215 PM MDT

LARGE HAIL 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.

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 4573 11131 4555 11131 4552 11058 4577 11058

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 27, 9:15 AM MDT, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 27, 9:15 AM MDT, 2 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
915 AM MDT SAT JUL 27 2002

...UPDATES PLANNED FOR ZONES AND STATE...

.SHORT TERM...ONE MORE DAY OF UNSETTLED WEATHER. AVN/NGM LOOKED OK
WITH THE VORTICITY CENTER OVER ERN WA AT 12Z. ETA LOOKED A LITTLE
TOO FAR S. VORTICITY CENTER IS FORECAST TO TRACK SE THE REMAINDER
OF THE DAY AS ASSOCIATED TROUGH SWINGS SE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA.
DUE TO CLOUD COVER AND LATEST FWC/MET GUIDANCE WILL LOWER SOME
HIGHS FOR TODAY 2 TO 3 DEGREES. WILL RAISE POPS AT GTF/LWT TO 40S
AS LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL TURN UPSLOPE AND LIKE THE MOST OF THE REST OF
THE FORECAST AREA...AIRMASS WILL BE UNSTABLE. WILL ALSO CHANGE
FORECAST WORDING FROM A CHANCE OF SHOWERS TO SCATTERED SHOWERS
AS PRECIPITATION ALREADY OCCURING OR WILL BE OCCURING THIS
AFTERNOON. BLANK

.EXTENDED...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO EXTENDED.
NEW AVN SHOWS UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL BE WESTERLY TUESDAY THROUGH
WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR GUSTY WEST WINDS OVER THE NORTH ON...
SO WE WILL ADD THIS TO THE FORECAST. OTHERWISE TEMPERATURES ARE ON
TRACK. THERE WILL BE A BETTER CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION ON THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY...AS THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES A BIT MORE SOUTHWEST. SO
SCATTERED...MANLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS LOOK GOOD.
BRUSDA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF EB 078/054 080/054 082 17221
    UUBBB 052/085 055/088 053/085 052/088 052 00000222211
CTB EB 074/050 078/051 079 17421
    UUUBB 049/082 052/085 050/082 050/085 050 00000011111
HLN EB 081/052 080/052 084 17321
    UUBBB 051/087 053/089 055/087 055/090 055 00000222211
BZN EB 078/050 080/051 081 17321
    UUBBB 049/084 051/086 053/085 053/087 053 00000333322
WEY EB 077/040 075/042 075 17321
    UUBBB 042/080 043/082 044/082 044/082 044 00000333322
DLN EB 076/050 078/050 080 17221
    UUBBB 051/085 052/088 052/086 052/088 052 00000222222
HVR EB 080/055 080/052 084 17421
    UUUBB 053/088 055/091 057/091 057/091 057 00000000011
LWT EB 075/049 076/050 078 17321
    UUBBB 051/083 052/087 055/087 055/087 055 00000222222=

.TFX...NONE.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 26, 7:55 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Blaine	50 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.