Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Great Falls, MT

June 5, 2004Fergus County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Jun 5, 2004, 9:27 PM MDT for Fergus County, Montana. It was in force for 33 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
Jun 5, 2004, 9:27 PM MDT (03:27 UTC)
Expired
Jun 5, 2004, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Fergus County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:31 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 00:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 126 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 2004-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 537 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 2004-06-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 81 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
537 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2966 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

797 
WFUS55 KTFX 060327
TORTFX
MTC027-060400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
927 PM MDT SAT JUN 5 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 1000 PM MDT

* AT 920 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTH OF HEATH...OR ABOUT 14 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  LEWISTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR FOREST GROVE AT 940 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.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM MDT
SATURDAY EVENING FOR WESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4700 10943 4682 10943 4680 10867 4702 10867

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 5, 6:25 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLiberty50 min
Jun 5, 6:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Judith Basin61 min
Jun 5, 7:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXHill, Liberty47 min
Jun 5, 7:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus55 min
Jun 5, 7:43 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXJudith Basin32 min
Jun 5, 8:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine, Hill49 min
Jun 5, 8:14 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXJudith Basin31 min
Jun 5, 8:24 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus36 min
Jun 5, 8:58 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus32 min
Jun 6, 3:48 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Lewis and Clark, Teton27 min
Jun 6, 4:09 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Hill21 min
Jun 6, 4:17 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade28 min
Jun 6, 4:54 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXCascade, Chouteau, Judith Basin36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

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.