Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2005

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Great Falls, MT

June 20, 2005Blaine County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Jun 20, 2005, 7:59 PM MDT for Blaine County, Montana. It was in force for 37 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
Jun 20, 2005, 7:59 PM MDT (01:59 UTC)
Expired
Jun 20, 2005, 8:36 PM MDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Blaine County, MT

The radar

The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 159 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:03 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 20, 8:01 PM MDTHAIL 0.887 W Black Coulee Reserv, MT
Jun 20, 8:10 PM MDTFUNNEL CLOUDBlack Coulee Reservoir, MTFUNNEL CLOUD LOCATED 200-300 FEET ABOVE GROUND. PENNY SIZE HAIL DID OCCUR WITH THIS STORM...AT THIS LOCATION.
Jun 20, 8:10 PM MDTFUNNEL CLOUDBlack Coulee Reservoir, MTFUNNEL LOCATED 200-300 FEET ABOVE GROUND...WITH PENNY SIZE HAIL.

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

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 20, 4:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 160 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, Glasgow Intl Airport, MT at 00:00Z on 2005-06-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 317 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Glasgow Intl Airport, MT at 00:00Z on 2005-06-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
317 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-89 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2366 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS55 KTFX 210200
TORTFX
MTC005-210245-
/O.NEW.KTFX.TO.W.0003.050621T0159Z-050621T0245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
759 PM MDT MON JUN 20 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN BLAINE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA

* UNTIL 845 PM MDT

* AT 757 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 3 MILES WEST OF
  BLACK COULEE RESERVOIR. THIS DANGEROUS STORM IS MOVING EAST AT
  20 MPH.

* THE MOST DANGEROUS PORTION OF THE STORM WILL BE...
  NEAR BLACK COULEE RESERVOIR BY 805 PM.
  IT WILL CROSS HIGHWAY 241 BY 815 PM

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 
QUARTER SIZE HAIL...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

HEAVY RAINS MAY QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS CREEKS...
DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES. AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED
ROADS AS AUTOMOBILES CAN QUICKLY STALL.

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANYTIME. TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES. IF POSSIBLE...MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER.
OTHERWISE...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 4900 10881 4852 10877 4845 10833 4900 10826

$$

BRUSDA
2 follow-up statements
000 
WWUS55 KTFX 210215
SVSTFX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
813 PM MDT MON JUN 20 2005

MTC005-210245-
/O.CON.KTFX.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-050621T0245Z/
BLAINE MT-
813 PM MDT MON JUN 20 2005

...A TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 845 PM MDT FOR NORTHEASTERN
BLAINE COUNTY...

AT 807 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO 
DETECT A TORNADO. IT IS LOCATED NEAR BLACK COULEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE 
REFUGE...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 
NICKEL SIZE HAIL...ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

HEAVY RAINS MAY QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS CREEKS...
DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES. AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED
ROADS AS AUTOMOBILES CAN QUICKLY STALL.

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANYTIME. TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES. IF POSSIBLE...MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER.
OTHERWISE...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. 
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 4900 10881 4852 10877 4845 10833 4900 10826

$$

BRUSDA
000 
WWUS55 KTFX 210236
SVSTFX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
836 PM MDT MON JUN 20 2005

MTC005-210246-
/O.CAN.KTFX.TO.W.0003.000000T0000Z-050621T0245Z/
BLAINE MT-
836 PM MDT MON JUN 20 2005

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN BLAINE COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT THE TORNADO THAT 
PROMPTED THE WARNING...HAS EXITED THE WARNED AREA...THUS THE WARNING 
HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM THIS 
EVENING FOR MOST OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4900 10881 4852 10877 4845 10833 4900 10826

$$

BRUSDA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 20, 6:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXBlaine64 min
Jun 20, 9:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXJudith Basin27 min

Nearby

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