Montana, 1998

Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Montana, July 4, 1998

July 4, 1998 · NWS GGW · 23 events in 5 counties and zones

13 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1.1 million
Crop damage
$416,000
Events
23

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 hail, 6 flash flood, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Daniels

When
July 4, 4:10 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, Richland
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
48.820, -106.050

Hail, Daniels

When
July 4, 4:15 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, Richland
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.820, -106.050

Hail, Valley

When
July 4, 4:30 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 15 mi ESE of Opheim
Measured
1 in hail
Crop damage
$6,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.770, -106.100

Large hail destroyed a wheat field.

Hail, Daniels

When
July 4, 4:39 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 10 mi S of Peerless
Measured
2 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.650, -105.820

Hail, Daniels

When
July 4, 5:00 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 10 mi S of Peerless
Measured
2.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.650, -105.820

Flash Flood, Daniels

When
July 4, 5:10 PM MST to 6:30 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, Peerless
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Businesses in Peerless reported Front Street, which is the main street in Peerless, under one foot of water.

Hail, Daniels

When
July 4, 5:30 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 5 mi W of Richland
Measured
4 in hail
Crop damage
$30,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.820, -106.170

Tennis ball sized hail and severe thunderstorm winds levelled wheat fields.

Flash Flood, Daniels

When
July 4, 5:57 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 3 mi E of Richland
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A section of Highway 248 under one foot of water.

Hail, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 6:15 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 25 mi N of Wolf Pt
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.470, -105.650

Tornado, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 6:15 PM MST to 6:18 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Wolf Pt to 30 mi ENE of Wolf Pt
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
300 yd
Property damage
$12,000
Crop damage
$30,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.400, -105.180

Spotter reported winds over 100 miles an hour and damage to outbuildings .

Tornado, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 6:38 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Poplar to 18 mi NW of Poplar
Rating
F1
Path length
3 mi
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$100,000
Crop damage
$50,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.280, -105.480

Tornado damage was done to a ranch 18 miles northwest of Poplar. One steel pole barn was completely destroyed and farm equipment was tossed around and damaged. Windows were blown out of the house and the wheat crop was a total loss.

Hail, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 6:45 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 5 mi NE of Wolf Pt
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.150, -105.570

Funnel Cloud, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 6:50 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 5 mi N of Poplar
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 6:55 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 15 mi N of Wolf Pt
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.320, -105.650

Flash Flood, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 7:29 PM MST to 9:30 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 22 mi N of Wolf Pt
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Highway 13 north of Wolf Point under water and impassible.

Hail, McCone

When
July 4, 8:04 PM MST
Where
McCone County, 5 mi S of Vida
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.770, -105.500

Hail, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 8:07 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Culbertson
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.150, -104.520

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 8:07 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Culbertson
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.150, -104.520

Hail, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Bainville
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.130, -104.220

Hail, Richland

When
July 4, 9:01 PM MST
Where
Richland County, 40 mi N of Sidney
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.280, -104.150

Flash Flood, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 9:13 PM MST to 10:45 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Culbertson
Property damage
$1.0 million
Crop damage
$300,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rain falling at the rate of more than 5 inches in an hour inundated the town of Culbertson. Forty-three homes sustained damage with 20 basements completely filled with water and sewage which backed up during the storm. Two homes were moved completely off of their foundations. Highway 2 was flooded and closed from Poplar to the North Dakota line until the next morning. At 11 PM local time, Highway 2 was under three feet of water which caused cars to float off of the road.

Flash Flood, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 9:13 PM MST to 10:30 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Brockton
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Roosevelt

When
July 4, 9:50 PM MST to 11:00 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Bainville
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Main street flooded in Bainville.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Montana, 1998Warnings in Montana, July 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5653381, 5653382, 5653384, 5653383, 5653386, 5653387, 5653385, 5653388, 5653389, 5653609, 5653391, 5653392, 5653390, 5653393, 5653394, 5653395, 5653396, 5653397, 5653484, 5653398, 5653399, 5653483, 5653608.