Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 1, 2003Chouteau County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 1, 2003, 6:18 PM MDT for Chouteau County, Montana. It was in force for 57 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: Jul 1, 2003, 6:18 PM MDT (00:18 UTC)
Expired: Jul 1, 2003, 7:15 PM MDT
In force: 57 min
Issued by: NWS Great Falls, MT
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Chouteau County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:18 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 nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 43 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: 173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 4096 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -84 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -12 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

091 
WUUS55 KTFX 020018
SVRTFX
MTC015-020115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
617 PM MDT TUE JUL 1 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 715 PM MDT

* AT 613 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF GERALDINE...OR ABOUT 17
  MILES SOUTHEAST OF FORT BENTON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE REMAIN OVER...
RURAL CENTRAL CHOUTEAU COUNTY

HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH ARE 
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 4767 11057 4754 11038 4789 10973 4808 11001

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 Jul 1, 2:25 PM MDT, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 2:25 PM MDT, 3 hours 53 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
225 PM MDT TUE JUL 1 2003

.TONIGHT...CWA IN SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AS UPPER RIDGE SHIFTS EAST
AND UPPER TROF DIGS ALONG PACIFIC COAST. LIMITED MOISTURE WITH A
SHORT WAVE TO MOVE UP OVER THE SOUTHWEST ZONES LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND OVER CENTRAL ZONES TONIGHT. CONTINUED ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH
SOME STRONG GUSTY WINDS. LOW TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE CLOSE TO LAST
NIGHTS AS COOLER AIR FINALLY STARTS SPILLING INTO CWA.

WEDNESDAY...UPPER TROF TO MOVE ALONG CANADIAN BORDER FINALLY BRINGING
IN SOME COOLER AIR. A FEW WEAK DISTURBANCES TO MOVE THROUGH FLOW AS
IT BECOMES WESTERLY FOR SHOWERS IN THE MORNING AND SOME
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. CLEARING WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR LOW
TEMPERATURES TO BE NEAR NORMAL.
THURSDAY...NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE NORTHERN ZONES WITH DIFLUENT
FLOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST. WEAK DISTURBANCES CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH
THE NORTHERN PORTION OF CWA. MAINLY DRY WITH NEAR NORMAL
TEMPERATURES.

.LONG TERM...FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE EMBEDDED IN THE WESTERLY FLOW WILL BRING DRY CONDITIONS AND
SEASONAL TEMPERATURES. THEN ON SATURDAY AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES
ACROSS SOUTHERN CANADA AND FLATTENS THE RIDGE. NOT A WHOLE LOT OF
COOL AIR BEHIND THE SURFACE COLD FRONT AGAIN SO TEMPERATURES WILL
REMAIN NEAR NORMAL. IT ALSO LOOKS DRY WITH ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS ALONG THE HIGH-LINE. MEIER

.SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...UPPER TROF MOVES ACROSS SOUTHERN CANADA
SUNDAY ALLOWING FLOW ALOFT TO BEGIN TO BACK. WEAK RIDGING TAKES
PLACE MONDAY BEFORE AN UPPER TROF DIGS ALONG THE WEST COAST TUESDAY
ALLOWING SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TO RETURN ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD REMAIN NEAR SEASONAL AVERAGES.

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 053/081 049/079 049 07222
    BBBBB 081/051 082/050 077/053 082/052 084 00000000003
CTB BB 051/076 048/074 048 07122
    BBBBB 077/050 075/048 073/051 077/050 079 00001100003
HLN BB 056/084 051/082 051 07222
    UBBBB 082/053 081/046 078/053 085/052 082 00000000003
BZN BB 050/082 047/079 047 07222
    UBBBB 083/049 084/048 080/049 083/048 083 00000000002
WEY UB 039/080 037/072 043 070-2
    UBBBB 072/045 077/049 077/046 078/048 074 00000000002
DLN UB 050/084 046/081 046 07212
    UBBBB 080/048 081/047 081/046 083/048 081 00000000--2
HVR BB 056/083 052/081 052 07322
    BBBBB 081/053 081/055 078/053 084/052 085 00001100003
LWT BB 053/078 049/076 049 07222
    BBBBB 077/051 081/051 074/050 077/049 083 00000000002

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 1, 11:00 AM MDT, 7 hours 18 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-020100-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1100 AM MDT TUE JUL 01 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

AN UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHWEST MONTANA THIS
AFTERNOON AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA TONIGHT. THERE IS A POTENTIAL
FOR THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2003 Every 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.