Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2008

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 563

June 17, 200833 counties in Montana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 17, 2008, 5:48 PM MDT for 33 counties in Montana. It was in force for 9 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 17, 2008, 5:48 PM MDT (23:48 UTC)
Expired
Jun 18, 2008, 3:00 AM MDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
70 kt
All 33 counties

Big Horn County, MT, Blaine County, MT, Broadwater County, MT, Carbon County, MT, Cascade County, MT, Chouteau County, MT, Custer County, MT, Fergus County, MT, Gallatin County, MT, Garfield County, MT, Golden Valley County, MT, Hill County, MT, Jefferson County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT, Lewis and Clark County, MT, Liberty County, MT, Madison County, MT, Meagher County, MT, Musselshell County, MT, Park County, MT, Petroleum County, MT, Phillips County, MT, Pondera County, MT, Powder River County, MT, Rosebud County, MT, Stillwater County, MT, Sweet Grass County, MT, Teton County, MT, Toole County, MT, Treasure County, MT, Valley County, MT, Wheatland County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:48 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

31 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 5:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXLiberty, Toole36 min
Jun 17, 5:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus33 min
Jun 17, 6:06 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXFergus24 min
Jun 17, 6:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau, Hill, Liberty46 min
Jun 17, 6:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus16 min
Jun 17, 6:55 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Wheatland65 min
Jun 17, 7:12 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell63 min
Jun 17, 7:31 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Musselshell29 min
Jun 17, 8:03 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell, Treasure, Yellowstone57 min
Jun 17, 8:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Musselshell31 min
Jun 17, 8:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWPetroleum66 min
Jun 17, 8:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZMusselshell, Treasure, Yellowstone22 min
Jun 17, 8:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZGolden Valley, Wheatland15 min
Jun 17, 9:11 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWGarfield, Petroleum, Phillips64 min
Jun 17, 10:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXFergus44 min
Jun 17, 10:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZYellowstone23 min
Jun 17, 10:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZTreasure, Yellowstone61 min
Jun 17, 10:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn41 min
Jun 17, 10:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWPhillips47 min
Jun 17, 10:52 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWValley38 min
Jun 17, 11:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Rosebud, Treasure66 min
Jun 17, 11:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWValley31 min
Jun 17, 11:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZTreasure31 min
Jun 17, 11:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZBig Horn, Rosebud56 min
Jun 18, 12:27 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZYellowstone48 min
Jun 18, 12:41 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZPowder River, Rosebud64 min
Jun 18, 12:47 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGGWDaniels, Valley43 min
Jun 18, 1:14 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZTreasure, Yellowstone61 min
Jun 18, 1:17 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBYZYellowstone7 hr
Jun 18, 1:33 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter, Powder River46 min
Jun 18, 2:35 AM MDTFlash Flood WarningBYZTreasure6 hr

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 305 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 12:00Z on 2008-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 583 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, Glasgow Intl Airport, MT at 12:00Z on 2008-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 130 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
583 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-148 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1355 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 17, 12:40 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBig Horn, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Powder River and 4 more65 min
Jun 17, 1:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBig Horn, Carter, Custer, Fallon, Powder River, Rosebud and 1 more8 hr
Jun 17, 2:09 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, Granite, Jefferson and 8 more66 min
Jun 17, 5:21 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Broadwater, Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Gallatin and 9 more54 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Montana, 2008Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2008

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.