Alert archive / Montana / Mesoscale Discussions in 2015

Mesoscale Discussion 856

June 1, 201519 counties in Montana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jun 1, 2015, 1:46 PM MDT for 19 counties in Montana. It was in force for 89 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 1, 2015, 1:46 PM MDT (19:46 UTC)
Expired
Jun 1, 2015, 3:15 PM MDT
In force
89 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
80%

Counties Broadwater County, MT, Carbon County, MT, Cascade County, MT, Fergus County, MT, Gallatin County, MT, Golden Valley County, MT, Jefferson County, MT, Judith Basin County, MT, Lewis and Clark County, MT, Madison County, MT, Meagher County, MT, Musselshell County, MT, Park County, MT, Petroleum County, MT, Stillwater County, MT, Sweet Grass County, MT, Treasure County, MT, Wheatland County, MT, Yellowstone County, MT

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:48 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.

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 141 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, Great_falls, MT at 12:00Z on 2015-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 43 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, Great_falls, MT at 12:00Z on 2015-06-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 102 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
43 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-204 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1644 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 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.

311 
ACUS11 KWNS 011946
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 011946 
MTZ000-012115-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0856
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0246 PM CDT MON JUN 01 2015

AREAS AFFECTED...SWRN THROUGH CNTRL MT

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH LIKELY 

VALID 011946Z - 012115Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...80 PERCENT

SUMMARY...STORMS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY FROM
PARTS OF SWRN THROUGH CNTRL MT THIS AFTERNOON. DAMAGING WIND AND
LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED SOON.

DISCUSSION...THE ATMOSPHERE IS DESTABILIZING OVER WRN THROUGH CNTRL
MT WHERE TEMPERATURES ARE CLIMBING THROUGH THE 70S TO NEAR 80 F.
SUFFICIENT LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE EXISTS TO SUPPORT UPPER 40S TO NEAR
50F SFC DEWPOINTS WITHIN A WELL MIXED BOUNDARY LAYER...AND LATEST
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS SHOWS MLCAPE AROUND 1000 J/KG OVER CNTRL MT.
STORMS ARE ALREADY BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND
WILL LIKELY INTENSIFY DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THEY MOVE EWD INTO THE
UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR. EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE
TO 30-40 KT AS A MID-LEVEL JET DEVELOPS NEWD TOWARD SWRN MT. THUS
SOME STORMS MAY ACQUIRE MID-LEVEL UPDRAFT ROTATION WHICH /ALONG WITH
7-7.5 C/KM MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND MODERATE INSTABILITY/ SHOULD
SUPPORT A THREAT FOR HAIL. INVERTED-V BOUNDARY LAYERS WILL ALSO
AUGMENT THE THREAT FOR A FEW DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AS STORMS MOVE OFF
THE MOUNTAINS.

..DIAL/MEAD.. 06/01/2015

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...BYZ...GGW...TFX...MSO...

LAT...LON   45061050 45061211 45961217 46741253 47601257 47701032
            47560762 46050699 45250850 45061050

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 1, 12:48 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaverhead, Gallatin, Madison, Park117 min
Jun 1, 2:19 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBeaverhead, Broadwater, Carbon, Cascade, Fergus, Gallatin and 14 more7 hr
Jun 1, 2:41 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCFallon, Wibaux2 hr
Jun 1, 4:31 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaverhead, Broadwater, Carbon, Cascade, Fergus, Gallatin and 13 more59 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Montana, 2015Every mesoscale discussion in 2015

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.