Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 83, NWS Great Falls, MT

August 4, 2002Beaverhead County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 2002, 2:10 PM MDT for Beaverhead County, Montana. It was in force for 35 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: Aug 4, 2002, 2:10 PM MDT (20:10 UTC)
Expired: Aug 4, 2002, 2:45 PM MDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Great Falls, MT
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Beaverhead 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, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 288 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 863 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 106 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

810 
WUUS55 KTFX 042010
SVRTFX
MTC001-042045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
209 PM MDT SUN AUG 4 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 245 PM MDT

* AT 207 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTH OF DILLON...MOVING NORTH AT 35
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  DILLON AT 215 PM MDT

VERY 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 4507 11267 4509 11280 4548 11281 4555 11279
          4556 11271 4544 11266 4542 11252 4508 11255

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 Aug 4, 9:20 AM MDT, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 9:20 AM MDT, 4 hours 50 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
920 AM MDT SUN AUG 4 2002

...UPDATE TO ZONES TO BE SENT BY 930 AM...

.SHORT TERM...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING WIDESPREAD OVER THE
CWA IN RESPONSE TO UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND SHORTWAVE ACTIVITY IN
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT.  SPC SLIGHT RISK COVERS MOST OF CWA AND WILL
ADD MENTION OF SEVERE FOR THIS AFTERNOON FOR ALL ZONES. MOST
CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON TO BE ELEVATED...SHEAR PROFILES REMAIN
GOOD AND WE WILL NOT SEE MUCH SUNSHINE TODAY. SPEAKING OF A
LACK OF SUNSHINE...DROP TODAYS HIGH TEMPS IN MOST PLAINS
LOCATIONS.  DITTMANN

.EXTENDED...AS LARGE UPPER LOW FINALLY PROGRESSES ON-SHORE OFF THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES FOR
TYPICAL AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. MODELS BEGIN TO DIFFER
BY FRIDAY WITH THE TRACK OF THE LOW...BUT IN ANY CASE...THE MAIN
TROUGH WILL LIFT NORTH INTO CANADA. THIS WILL CAUSE A TRANSITION
FROM A SOUTHWEST FLOW TO MORE OF A WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. THUS...
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES LOOK TO DECREASE BY LATE IN THE WEEK WITH
TEMPERATURES RUNNING NEAR AVERAGE. JCA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF TB 065/050 076/052 082 02542
    BBBBB 052/083 052/083 052/083 052/083 052 22222222211
CTB EB 062/047 072/048 077 02431
    BBBBB 048/078 048/078 048/076 048/078 048 22222222211
HLN TB 078/051 086/052 086 02642
    BBBBB 052/085 052/085 052/085 052/086 052 22222222211
BZN TB 082/050 085/048 086 02642
    BBBBB 048/085 048/086 048/086 048/086 048 22222222211
WEY TB 076/043 080/040 078 02632
    BBBBB 040/078 040/078 040/078 040/078 040 22222222211
DLN TB 080/049 086/048 084 02632
    BBBBB 048/083 048/084 048/084 048/084 048 22222222211
HVR EB 072/052 082/053 088 02432
    BBBBB 053/087 054/087 052/085 052/086 052 22222222211
LWT EB 077/051 081/052 086 02462
    BBBBB 050/084 050/084 050/083 050/083 050 22222222211=

.TFX...NONE.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 4, 4:14 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Gallatin	46 min
Aug 4, 4:39 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Broadwater	36 min
Aug 4, 4:49 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Lewis and Clark	56 min
Aug 4, 5:49 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Meagher	41 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.