Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Billings, MT

August 11, 2005Stillwater County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this tornado warning at Aug 11, 2005, 8:32 PM MDT for Stillwater County, Montana. It was in force for 28 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Aug 11, 2005, 8:32 PM MDT (02:32 UTC)
Expired: Aug 11, 2005, 9:00 PM MDT
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Billings, MT
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Stillwater County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:32 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
Aug 11, 8:39 PM MDT	HAIL 1.75	1 W Molt, MT
Aug 11, 8:39 PM MDT	HAIL 1.75	1 W Molt, MT
Aug 11, 8:39 PM MDT	TORNADO	1 W Molt, MT

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 216 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: 60 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1720 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 103 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 KBYZ 120233
TORBYZ
MTC095-120300-
/O.NEW.KBYZ.TO.W.0021.050812T0232Z-050812T0300Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
832 PM MDT THU AUG 11 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BILLINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL STILLWATER COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 900 PM MDT

* AT 827 PM MDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 6 MILES
  WEST OF MOLT...OR ABOUT 17 MILES NORTHEAST OF COLUMBUS...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MOLT BY 845 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.

THIS REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR STILLWATER COUNTY.

LAT...LON 4599 10894 4596 10892 4578 10891 4578 10895
      4575 10901 4575 10905 4574 10907 4587 10917
      4590 10917

$$

JKL

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS55 KBYZ 120252
SVSBYZ

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
850 PM MDT THU AUG 11 2005

MTC095-120300-
/O.CON.KBYZ.TO.W.0021.000000T0000Z-050812T0300Z/
STILLWATER MT-
850 PM MDT THU AUG 11 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM MDT FOR EXTREME
EAST CENTRAL STILLWATER COUNTY...

AT 850 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR MOLT...MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

A TORNADO WAS REPORTED JUST WEST OF MOLT AT 839 PM. GOLF BALL SIZE 
HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED.

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 4590 10899 4592 10891 4579 10891 4579 10895
      4580 10899 4589 10899

$$

JKL

000 
WWUS55 KBYZ 120258
SVSBYZ

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
858 PM MDT THU AUG 11 2005

MTC095-120308-
/O.EXP.KBYZ.TO.W.0021.000000T0000Z-050812T0300Z/
STILLWATER MT-
858 PM MDT THU AUG 11 2005

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR EXTREME EAST CENTRAL STILLWATER COUNTY
EXPIRES AT 900 PM MDT...

THE STORM HAS MOVED OUT OF STILLWATER COUNTY...THUS THE WARNING HAS 
BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

LAT...LON 4590 10899 4592 10891 4579 10891 4579 10895
      4580 10899 4589 10899

$$

JKL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 11, 8:08 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Stillwater	52 min
Aug 11, 8:45 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	45 min
Aug 11, 9:21 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Stillwater	39 min
Aug 11, 9:25 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	BYZ	Yellowstone	30 min
Aug 11, 11:23 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BYZ	Stillwater	39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2005 Every tornado warning in 2005 Tornadoes in 2005

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.