Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 8, 2002Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Jul 8, 2002, 3:58 PM MDT for Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 47 min. 3 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: Jul 8, 2002, 3:58 PM MDT (21:58 UTC)
Expired: Jul 8, 2002, 4:45 PM MDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Great Falls, MT
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Judith Basin County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:00 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, 4:00 PM MDT	Hail 0.75	Utica, MT	A severe thunderstorm produced 0.75 inch hail at Utica 3E.
Jul 8, 4:05 PM MDT	Hail 1	Utica, MT	A severe thunderstorm produced 1.00 inch hail near Utica.
Jul 8, 4:15 PM MDT	Hail 1.75	Hobson, MT	A severe thunderstorm produced 1.75 inch hail and a funnel cloud near Hobson.

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, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 66 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.

862 
WFUS55 KTFX 082158
TORTFX
MTC045-082245-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 445 PM MDT

* AT 350 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HOBSON...OR ABOUT 18 MILES SOUTH OF
  STANFORD...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  HOBSON AT 415 PM MDT

THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF THE EARLIER TORNADO WARNING.

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 4691 11038 4679 11020 4679 10990 4686 10985
          4717 10983 4719 10994 4725 11010

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, 3:55 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	TFX	Fergus	65 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.