Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Great Falls, MT

August 8, 2003Cascade County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Aug 8, 2003, 8:26 PM MDT for Cascade County, Montana. It was in force for 34 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
Aug 8, 2003, 8:26 PM MDT (02:26 UTC)
Expired
Aug 8, 2003, 9:00 PM MDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cascade County, MT

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 60 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 00:00Z on 2003-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 190 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 00:00Z on 2003-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -44 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
190 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-162 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3166 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
93 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.

000 
WFUS55 KTFX 090226
TORTFX
MTC013-090300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
826 PM MDT FRI AUG 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL CASCADE COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF GREAT FALLS

* UNTIL 900 PM MDT

* AT 820 PM MDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  GREAT FALLS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

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 4745 11160 4732 11141 4753 11105 4766 11136

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 8, 9:06 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau39 min
Aug 8, 9:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLiberty, Toole52 min
Aug 8, 10:45 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLewis and Clark, Teton60 min
Aug 8, 10:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLiberty29 min
Aug 8, 11:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade28 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.