Alert archive / Montana / Tornado Warnings in 2016

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Great Falls, MT

July 18, 2016Judith Basin County, Montana

NWS Great Falls, MT issued this tornado warning at Jul 18, 2016, 7:30 PM MDT for Judith Basin County, Montana. It was in force for 18 min. 1 report 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: Jul 18, 2016, 7:30 PM MDT (01:30 UTC)
Expired: Jul 18, 2016, 7:48 PM MDT
In force: 18 min
Issued by: NWS Great Falls, MT
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.75 in

County Judith Basin County, MT

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:33 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 18, 7:30 PM MDT	HAIL 1	3 Se Geyser, MT	DELAYED REPORT. MAINLY PEA-SIZE WITH A FEW QUARTER-SIZE HAILSTONES.

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

The nearest sounding before it

Great_falls, MT (KTFX), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 31 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1686 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -123 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2027 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 138 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

873 
WFUS55 KTFX 190130
TORTFX
MTC045-190200-
/O.NEW.KTFX.TO.W.0005.160719T0130Z-160719T0200Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
730 PM MDT MON JUL 18 2016

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREAT FALLS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IN CENTRAL MONTANA...

* UNTIL 800 PM MDT
    
* AT 730 PM MDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR GEYSER...OR 13 MILES WEST OF
  STANFORD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO AND GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS...AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR. TREE
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  GEYSER AROUND 745 PM MDT. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...IN
A MOBILE HOME...OR IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY HIDE THIS TORNADO. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE
TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 4714 11050 4719 11057 4730 11048 4721 11031
TIME...MOT...LOC 0130Z 222DEG 10KT 4722 11048 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...1.75IN

$$

MARTIN

1 follow-up statement

032 
WWUS55 KTFX 190148
SVSTFX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
748 PM MDT MON JUL 18 2016

MTC045-190157-
/O.CAN.KTFX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-160719T0200Z/
JUDITH BASIN MT-
748 PM MDT MON JUL 18 2016

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHWESTERN JUDITH BASIN COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...
    
THE TORNADO THREAT HAS DIMINISHED AND THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN
CANCELLED. HOWEVER...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS REMAIN LIKELY AND
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING STILL REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
NORTHEASTERN JUDITH BASIN AND WEST CENTRAL FERGUS COUNTIES UNTIL 830
PM.

LAT...LON 4714 11050 4719 11057 4730 11048 4721 11031
TIME...MOT...LOC 0146Z 222DEG 10KT 4726 11043 

$$

MARTIN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 18, 6:04 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Cascade, Meagher	41 min
Jul 18, 6:43 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Cascade, Judith Basin	47 min
Jul 18, 7:13 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	TFX	Judith Basin	17 min
Jul 18, 7:46 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Fergus, Judith Basin	44 min
Jul 18, 8:17 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	TFX	Pondera	43 min
Jul 18, 8:30 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Chouteau, Fergus	45 min
Jul 18, 8:44 PM MDT	Areal Flood Advisory	TFX	Fergus	3 hr
Jul 18, 9:02 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	TFX	Glacier	58 min
Jul 18, 9:13 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Blaine, Fergus	50 min
Jul 18, 10:34 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	TFX	Chouteau	41 min
Jul 18, 10:47 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	TFX	Glacier	43 min
Jul 18, 11:02 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TFX	Glacier	28 min
Jul 18, 11:21 PM MDT	Special Weather Statement	TFX	Blaine	54 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Montana, 2016 Every tornado warning in 2016 Tornadoes in 2016

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.