Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Great Falls, MT

April 25, 2003Fergus County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Apr 25, 2003, 2:45 PM MDT for Fergus County, Montana. It was in force for 30 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
Apr 25, 2003, 2:45 PM MDT (20:45 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 2003, 3:15 PM MDT
In force
30 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), 133 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:46 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 12:00Z on 2003-04-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 12:00Z on 2003-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1625 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
55 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.

000 
WFUS55 KTFX 252045 CCA
TORTFX
MTC027-252115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
245 PM MDT FRI APR 25 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 315 PM MDT

* AT 235 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 17 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SUFFOLK...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTHWEST
  OF HILGER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  7 MILES NORTHWEST OF SUFFOLK AT 315 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.

LAT...LON 4738 10980 4730 10953 4747 10934 4757 10965

$$
10

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 25, 2:43 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus32 min
Apr 25, 3:27 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus33 min
Apr 25, 3:58 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus32 min
Apr 25, 5:10 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.