Alert archive / Montana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Great Falls, MT

June 5, 2012Chouteau County, Fergus County, Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 5, 2012, 6:16 PM MDT for Chouteau County, Fergus County, Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 59 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 5, 2012, 6:16 PM MDT (00:16 UTC)
Expired
Jun 5, 2012, 7:15 PM MDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Great Falls, MT
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Chouteau County, MT, Fergus County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:20 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 5, 6:18 PM MDTHAIL 1.75Denton, MTESTIMATED GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WITH FUNNEL CLOUD OBSERVED
Jun 5, 6:53 PM MDTTORNADOCoffee Creek, MTLOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CONFIRMED TORNADO ON GROUND WITH LARGE PATH AND DAMAGE
Jun 5, 6:55 PM MDTHAIL 116 E Geraldine, MTESTIMATED 1.0 INCH PLUS 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 5, 2:37 PM MDTTornado WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Glasgow Intl Airport, MT (KGGW), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 263 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 2012-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 880 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 2012-06-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 244 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
880 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-226 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2578 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
244 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
359 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

735 
WUUS55 KTFX 060016
SVRTFX
MTC015-027-045-060115-
/O.NEW.KTFX.SV.W.0021.120606T0016Z-120606T0115Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
616 PM MDT TUE JUN 5 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN FERGUS COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA...
  NORTHEASTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA...
  SOUTHEASTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA...

* UNTIL 715 PM MDT

* AT 615 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTH OF DENTON...MOVING NORTH AT 35
  MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE DENTON...STANFORD AND WINIFRED.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE LIKELY
WITH THIS STORM.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

DOPPLER RADAR HAS INDICATED SOME WEAK ROTATION WITHIN THIS STORM.
WHILE NOT IMMEDIATELY LIKELY...A TORNADO MAY STILL DEVELOP. IF A
TORNADO IS SPOTTED...ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A
STURDY STRUCTURE...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM MDT TUESDAY EVENING
FOR NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.

&&

LAT...LON 4781 11013 4761 10926 4700 10989 4713 11029
TIME...MOT...LOC 0016Z 186DEG 30KT 4723 10996

$$

MLV
1 follow-up statement
832 
WWUS55 KTFX 060108
SVSTFX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
708 PM MDT TUE JUN 5 2012

MTC015-027-045-060118-
/O.EXP.KTFX.SV.W.0021.000000T0000Z-120606T0115Z/
CHOUTEAU MT-FERGUS MT-JUDITH BASIN MT-
708 PM MDT TUE JUN 5 2012

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN JUDITH BASIN...
NORTHWESTERN FERGUS AND SOUTHEASTERN CHOUTEAU COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT
715 PM MDT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS EXPIRED...HOWEVER THIS STORM REMAINS 
SEVERE AND A NEW WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM MDT TUESDAY EVENING
FOR NORTHWESTERN MONTANA.

LAT...LON 4781 11013 4761 10926 4700 10989 4713 11029
TIME...MOT...LOC 0108Z 186DEG 30KT 4766 10989

$$

MLV

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 5, 6:06 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXBeaverhead39 min
Jun 5, 6:08 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXCascade67 min
Jun 5, 6:11 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXChouteau, Fergus, Judith Basin49 min
Jun 5, 6:52 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXBlaine, Chouteau, Fergus23 min
Jun 5, 7:06 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXBlaine, Chouteau, Fergus, Hill24 min
Jun 5, 7:24 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTFXChouteau51 min
Jun 5, 7:29 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXBlaine, Chouteau, Hill46 min
Jun 5, 8:03 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXCascade42 min
Jun 5, 8:09 PM MDTTornado WarningTFXChouteau, Hill, Liberty45 min
Jun 5, 9:02 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXLiberty43 min
Jun 5, 9:04 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXTeton41 min
Jun 5, 9:29 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXChouteau61 min
Jun 5, 9:35 PM MDTHigh Wind WatchTFX7 hr
Jun 5, 10:09 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXPondera51 min
Jun 5, 10:12 PM MDTSpecial Weather StatementTFXChouteau48 min
Jun 6, 4:20 AM MDTHigh Wind WarningTFX16 hr
Jun 6, 9:39 AM MDTRiver Flood WarningTFXCascade3 days
Jun 6, 9:39 AM MDTRiver Flood WarningTFXCascade3 days

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Montana, 2012Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2012

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.