Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 15, NWS Great Falls, MT
NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 30, 2003, 4:59 PM MDT for Gallatin County, Montana. It was in force for 46 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
- May 30, 2003, 4:59 PM MDT (22:59 UTC)
- Expired
- May 30, 2003, 5:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Great Falls, MT
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Gallatin County, MT
The radar
The Billings radar (KBLX), 187 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:01 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.
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 12:35 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 192 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1926 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -19 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 88 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
650 WUUS55 KTFX 302259 SVRTFX MTC031-302345- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 500 PM MDT FRI MAY 30 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EAST CENTRAL GALLATIN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BOZEMAN * UNTIL 545 PM MDT * AT 456 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BOZEMAN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... OVER BOZEMAN AT 505 PM MDT THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH...AND HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER. REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN GREAT FALLS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM MDT FRIDAY EVENING FOR SOUTHWEST MONTANA. LAT...LON 4565 11132 4552 11115 4589 11053 4606 11076
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 May 30, 2:50 PM MDT, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 30, 2:50 PM MDT, 2 hours 9 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
250 PM MDT FRI MAY 30 2003
.DISCUSSION...
TONIGHT AND SATURDAY...FLOOD WARNINGS AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD
ADVISORY CONTINUE FOR SOUTHWEST MONTANA. SNOWMELT OUT OF THE
MOUNTAINS AND RAINFALL FROM THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT SHOULD MAINTAIN
THE FLOODING SITUATION. RFC FORECASTS INDICATE RIVER LEVELS TO REMAIN
ABOVE FLOOD STAGE THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY AS WELL...SO THESE
STATEMENTS HANDLE THE SITUATION WELL. WEATHERWISE...THE UPPER RIDGE
OVER MONTANA WILL BE FLATTENED OVERNIGHT BY A SHORTWAVE TROUGH
MOVING NORTHEAST OUT OF EASTERN OREGON AND SOUTHWESTERN IDAHO.
DISTURBANCES AHEAD OF THE SHORTWAVE HAVE ALREADY BEEN CREATING
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL IDAHO. AS MORE OF THESE
DISTURBANCES MOVE INTO THE RELATIVELY CLEAR SKIES AND INCREASINGLY
MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
MAY DEVELOP THERE AS WELL. THEREFORE...SPC HAS ISSUED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR MOST OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA THROUGH 7 PM MDT.
INVERTED V SOUNDINGS INDICATE DRY LOW LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...
WHICH MEAN THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS OVER
60 MPH AND SEVERE HAIL. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE AT LEAST LIKELY
THROUGH MIDNIGHT AS THE SHORTWAVE MOVES INTO THE AREA. THE SHORTWAVE
WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AS IT MOVES NORTHEAST ACROSS THE STATE
OVERNIGHT...SPREADING THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS
THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA. HOWEVER...THE AIRMASS IS NEUTRAL TO STABLE
EAST OF THE ROCKIES...SO DO NOT EXPECT THE SEVERE WEATHER TO MOVE OUT
OF THE SOUTHWEST. WITH THE SHORTWAVE MOSTLY PASSING THROUGH THE AREA
TONIGHT...THE UPPER RIDGE REBUILDS SLIGHTLY FOR MORE OF A WESTERLY
FLOW ALOFT ON SATURDAY. THE FLOW WILL BE MOIST WITH WEAK EMBEDDED
DISTURBANCES FOR A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS.
THIS WESTERLY FLOW WILL ALSO BRING MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES INTO THE
CWA...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO BE ABOUT 5 TO 7 DEGREES COOLER THAN
TODAY. COULSTON
SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BREAKS
DOWN AS A STRONG JET PUSHES INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND OVER THE
NORTHERN ROCKIES. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EARLY IN THE
PERIOD MOVE EAST OF MY FORECAST AREA AS SHORTWAVE RIDGING MOVES OVER
THE CWA. TEMPERATURES COOL A FEW DEGREES AS HEIGHTS LOWER. AS
TEMPERATURES DROP...RIVER FLOODING ISSUES IN THE SOUTHWEST SHOULD
BECOME LESS OF A PROBLEM. RFC FORECASTS INDICATE THAT RIVERS
CURRENTLY IN FLOOD SHOULD DROP BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY SUNDAY EVENING.
MONDAY...THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH SLIDES ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
EARLY ON MONDAY...FOR AN INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS DURING THE
DAY. SURFACE WINDS VEER TO THE NORTHWEST AND TEMPERATURES CONTINUE
TO COOL.
TUESDAY...FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES TO VEER TO THE NORTHWEST AS A RIDGE
BUILDS ALONG THE WEST COAST AND TROUGHING DEVELOPS OVER THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. A SOMEWHAT COOLER AND POSSIBLY SHOWERY REGIME
REMAINS IN PLACE OVER THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL
BE OVER THE WEST COAST. THE AIRMASS GRADUALLY DRIES AS THE RIDGE
MOVES EAST...AND TEMPS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE. ZELZER
.CCF NUMBERS
GTF EB 052/072 047/075 044 10532
BBBBB 068/037 065/042 069/043 073/045 074 02222200000
CTB EB 048/068 046/073 043 10342
BBBBB 065/036 062/041 067/042 070/045 072 02222200000
HLN EB 054/072 047/075 047 10842
BBBBB 070/038 068/044 072/045 075/046 077 01222200000
BZN BB 049/071 045/072 040 10533
BBBBB 071/037 065/040 069/041 072/042 073 01222200000
WEY BB 041/068 037/068 035 10622
BBBBB 063/032 058/035 062/035 066/032 061 00222200000
DLN BB 053/070 045/073 042 10822
BBBBB 070/037 066/041 068/042 068/042 071 0-222200000
HVR EB 050/071 048/075 047 10223
BBBBB 073/039 068/045 071/045 076/047 077 01222200000
LWT EB 050/069 045/071 042 10333
BBBBB 064/036 062/042 064/042 067/043 070 0-222200000
.TFX...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR MOST OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA
THROUGH 7 PM MDT.
...FLOOD WARNINGS FOR THE GALLATIN RIVER NEAR LOGAN...THE
JEFFERSON RIVER AT TWIN BRIDGES...AND THE BIG HOLE RIVER AT
MELROSE ARE IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY.
...SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWEST MONTANA IN EFFECT
THROUGH SATURDAY.Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 4:44 AM MDT, 12 hours 15 minutes before
MTZ008>015-044>055-310010- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 444 AM MDT FRI MAY 30 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA .DAY ONE...TODAY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA. A STRONG DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST MONTANA LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL CAUSE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM. SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...MAINLY BETWEEN 4 AND 9 PM...AND SOUTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM HELENA TO BOZEMAN. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...ALTHOUGH HAIL TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER IS ALSO POSSIBLE. A FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE GALLATIN RIVER NEAR LOGAN THROUGH SATURDAY. REFER TO GTFFLSTFX FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE GALLATIN RIVER NEAR LOGAN THROUGH SATURDAY. REFER TO GTFFLSTFX FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS...INCLUDING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND HAIL...TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.