Hail, Custer
- When
- May 20, 6:15 PM MST
- Where
- Custer County, 21 mi SW of Miles City
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.180, -106.150
Hail in Montana, May 20, 1998
A thunderstorm produced dime to nickel sized hail as it moved northeast over Western Custer County. A funnel cloud was spotted by the Miles City airport observers as the thunderstorm moved over the airport.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS BYZ wrote it up.
A thunderstorm produced dime to nickel sized hail as it moved northeast over Western Custer County. A funnel cloud was spotted by the Miles City airport observers as the thunderstorm moved over the airport.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Custer
- When
- May 20, 6:26 PM MST
- Where
- Custer County, 10 mi SW of Miles City
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.300, -105.980
Funnel Cloud, Custer
- When
- May 20, 6:26 PM MST to 6:35 PM MST
- Where
- Custer County, Miles City Arpt
- Coordinates
- 46.253, -105.572 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail, Custer
- When
- May 20, 6:29 PM MST
- Where
- Custer County, Miles City Arpt
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.430, -105.880
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail in Iowa, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, May 20, 1998
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 20, 1998
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 20 to 21, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Oklahoma, May 20, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 20, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, May 20, 1998
- Drought in Louisiana, May 20 to 31, 1998
More
Every storm in Montana in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, May 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: 5643244, 5643245, 5643246, 5643247.