Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 8, 2002Fergus County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Jul 8, 2002, 3:55 PM MDT for Fergus County, Montana. It was in force for 65 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 8, 2002, 3:55 PM MDT (21:55 UTC)
Expired: Jul 8, 2002, 5:00 PM MDT
In force: 65 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), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:55 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 8, 4:30 PM MDT	Tornado F2	Hilger, MT	A severe thunderstorm moved across the northern half of Fergus County during the late afternoon hours on the 8th. This storm produced a widespread area of one to two inch hail from Brooks to Roy, with wind gusts over 70 mph. When the storm was just north of Br

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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 8, 1:00 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 87 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: 46 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -508 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1241 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 109 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.

989 
WFUS55 KTFX 082155
TORTFX
MTC027-082300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
354 PM MDT MON JUL 8 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FERGUS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF LEWISTOWN

* UNTIL 500 PM MDT

* AT 350 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 31 MILES WEST OF LEWISTOWN...OR ABOUT 6 MILES EAST OF
  STANFORD...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE MOORE...ROSS FORK 
AND DANVERS.

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 700 PM MDT MONDAY
EVENING FOR NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4748 10992 4710 10967 4680 10968 4695 10878
          4767 10894

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 8, 12:21 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Pondera, Teton	39 min
Jul 8, 2:26 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Meagher	64 min
Jul 8, 3:15 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Judith Basin	60 min
Jul 8, 3:27 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	TFX	Judith Basin	33 min
Jul 8, 3:41 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Chouteau, Hill	34 min
Jul 8, 3:58 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	TFX	Judith Basin	47 min
Jul 8, 4:52 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	TFX	Blaine	53 min
Jul 8, 5:02 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Fergus	43 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.