Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Great Falls, MT

August 5, 2002Fergus County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 2002, 7:32 PM MDT for Fergus County, Montana. It was in force for 58 min. 2 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 5, 2002, 7:32 PM MDT (01:32 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 2002, 8:30 PM MDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fergus County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 140 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:33 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 5, 7:59 PM MDTHail 2.75Winifred, MTA severe thunderstorm produced 2.75 inch hail at Winifred 11NW.
Aug 5, 8:00 PM MDTTornado F0Winifred, MTA tornado was spotted over rural areas in Northwest Fergus County, about 10 miles southwest of Winifred. No damage was reported.

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.

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 82 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 2002-08-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 568 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 2002-08-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 30 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
568 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-156 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1251 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
301 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

964 
WFUS55 KTFX 060132
TORTFX
MTC027-060230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
731 PM MDT MON AUG 5 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL FERGUS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 830 PM MDT

* AT 728 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 13 MILES WEST OF   
WINIFRED...OR ABOUT 36 MILES NORTH OF LEWISTOWN...MOVING NORTHEAST   
AT 20 MPH. SPOTTER INDICATED A FUNNEL CLOUD 25 WEST WINIFRED.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  7 MILES NORTHWEST OF WINIFRED AT 800 PM MDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM MDT
MONDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4757 10984 4745 10967 4756 10925 4771 10917
          4775 10920 4771 10950 4766 10978

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 5, 6:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXTeton53 min
Aug 5, 6:18 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXJudith Basin27 min
Aug 5, 6:45 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXChouteau30 min
Aug 5, 6:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade57 min
Aug 5, 6:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXPondera54 min
Aug 5, 6:59 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXChouteau46 min
Aug 5, 7:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus57 min
Aug 5, 7:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXTeton48 min
Aug 5, 7:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXToole46 min
Aug 5, 7:48 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau57 min
Aug 5, 7:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLiberty62 min
Aug 5, 8:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus30 min
Aug 5, 9:18 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus57 min
Aug 6, 4:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus63 min
Aug 6, 5:11 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.