Alert archive / Montana / Flash Flood Warnings in 2011

Flash Flood Warning 14, NWS Billings, MT

July 2, 2011Carter County, Powder River County, Montana

NWS Billings, MT issued this flash flood warning at Jul 2, 2011, 5:40 PM MDT for Carter County, Powder River County, Montana. It was in force for 2 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 2, 2011, 5:40 PM MDT (23:40 UTC)
Expired
Jul 2, 2011, 8:07 PM MDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Billings, MT
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

Counties Carter County, MT, Powder River County, MT

The radar

The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 231 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:40 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

Rapid City, SD (KUNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 232 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 2011-07-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 829 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 2011-07-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
829 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
993 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 2, 2:20 PM MDT, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 2:20 PM MDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
220 PM MDT SAT JUL 2 2011

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR SUN AND MON...

FEW STORMS STARTING TO DEVELOP OVER FAR EASTERN MONTANA AND
NORTHEAST WYOMING THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECT THIS DEVELOPMENT TO
INCREASE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SEVERE THREAT IS
DEFINITELY STILL THERE AND STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTHEAST MONTANA AND NORTHWEST WYOMING. THEIR
IS A GOOD CONVERGENCE ZONE AND LOW LEVEL JET SUPPORT THAT COULD
FORM A TORNADO OR TWO AND THUS THE NEED FOR THE WATCH. THIS
THREAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING BEFORE THIS SHORTWAVE
HEADS EAST INTO THE DAKOTAS. RIDGE BUILDS EVEN MORE SUNDAY
BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S. A
COLD FRONT AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT
AND BRING A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION TO THE REGION AS THIS
MOVES THROUGH. RIDGE DOES NOT FLATTEN OUT TOO MUCH WITH THE
FRONTAL PASSAGE AND STARTS TO REBUILD ON MONDAY AGAIN.
TEMPERATURES WILL BE SLIGHTLY COOLER ON SUNDAY IN THE MID TO
UPPER 80S. AS THE RIDGE BUILDS IN ON MONDAY...THIS WILL START TO
TAP INTO SOME MONSOONAL MOISTURE AND BRING A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS. SOLUM

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR TUE...WED...THU...FRI...SAT...

MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE
OVER THE REGION FOR MUCH OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. AS A
RESULT...DID NOT MAKE MANY CHANGES TO THE FORECAST. MONSOONAL
MOISTURE WILL GET WRAPPED UP IN THE RIDGE AND MOVE NORTHWARD
TOWARDS THE REGION. THIS WILL PROVIDE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FOR MUCH OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. TEMPERATURES WILL
ALSO REMAIN WARM DURING THIS PERIOD. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW SOME
SORT OF SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH BY THE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY PERIOD
WHICH WOULD SUPPRESS THE RIDGE AND COOL THINGS DOWN A BIT. THE
ECMWF IS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS SYSTEM WITH THE GFS MODEL
A LOT WEAKER. SO WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THIS AS NEXT
WEEK PROGRESSES. SOLUM

&&

.AVIATION...

VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH
TONIGHT. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING ALONG AND SOUTH OF A MILES CITY TO SHERIDAN
LINE. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND WIND
GUSTS OVER 50 KTS. EXPECT LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS NEAR ANY STORMS
DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL. SOLUM

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...

    SUN     MON     TUE     WED     THU     FRI     SAT
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 060/096 063/083 058/089 059/087 060/091 062/089 059/088
    00/U    22/T    22/T    23/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
LVM 049/093 053/081 049/086 051/085 051/087 050/085 049/086
    00/U    22/T    12/T    22/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
HDN 058/098 061/087 059/093 060/092 061/093 062/094 060/092
    20/U    22/T    22/T    23/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
MLS 060/098 064/086 061/089 062/088 062/090 065/091 063/089
    20/U    22/T    22/T    33/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
4BQ 060/095 062/089 061/092 061/091 061/091 064/088 061/090
    20/U    22/T    23/T    33/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
BHK 059/092 062/086 060/086 060/087 060/087 064/088 061/087
    40/U    22/T    23/T    33/T    33/T    33/T    33/T
SHR 056/095 058/085 058/088 058/086 056/088 058/087 055/087
    20/U    22/T    23/T    34/T    43/T    33/T    33/T

&&

.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...TORNADO WATCH 585 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
      ZONES 30>33-36>38-57-58.
WY...TORNADO WATCH 585 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
      ZONES 98-99.

&&

WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGS
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 2, 2:14 PM MDT, 3 hours 26 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
214 PM MDT SAT JUL 2 2011

MTZ028>042-056>058-063>068-WYZ098-099-032015-
SOUTHERN WHEATLAND-MUSSELSHELL-TREASURE-NORTHERN ROSEBUD-CUSTER-
FALLON-NORTHERN STILLWATER-YELLOWSTONE-POWDER RIVER-CARTER-
SOUTHERN BIG HORN-EASTERN CARBON-NORTHERN PARK-
NORTHERN SWEET GRASS-GOLDEN VALLEY-RED LODGE FOOTHILLS-
NORTHERN BIG HORN-SOUTHERN ROSEBUD-JUDITH GAP-PARADISE VALLEY-
LIVINGSTON AREA-BEARTOOTH FOOTHILLS-ABSAROKA/BEARTOOTH MOUNTAINS-
CRAZY MOUNTAINS-NORTHEAST BIG HORN MOUNTAINS-SHERIDAN FOOTHILLS-
214 PM MDT SAT JUL 2 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
MONTANA...SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA...SOUTHEAST MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL WYOMING.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG AND
EAST OF A MILES CITY TO SHERIDAN LINE. A FEW OF THESE STORMS MAY
BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE...ALONG
WITH VERY HEAVY PRECIPITATION. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AN
ISOLATED TORNADO AS WELL.

NUMEROUS RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT ACROSS THE REGION DUE
TO WARM TEMPERATURES INDUCING RAPID SNOW MELT AND CAUSING AREA
RIVERS AND STREAMS TO FLOOD.

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO RIVER LEVELS IF YOU ARE ON OR NEAR THE
WATER. TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT PROPERTY AND LIVESTOCK IF LOCATED
NEAR LOCAL WATERWAYS OR IN AREAS PRONE TO FLOODING FROM SNOW
MELT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

FLOODING AND HIGH WATER DUE TO SNOW MELT WILL CONTINUE AT LEAST
INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK ALONG AREA RIVERS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 2, 4:23 PM MDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before
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<body>
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    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
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      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
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        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
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        Please try again in a few minutes.
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 2, 3:39 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter51 min
Jul 2, 4:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter, Powder River60 min
Jul 2, 4:30 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBYZCarter37 min
Jul 2, 5:16 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementBYZCarter59 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Montana, 2011Every flash flood warning in 2011

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.