Montana, 1999

Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, June 21, 1999

June 21, 1999 · NWS GGW · 32 events in 10 counties and zones

Over almost a four hour period, numerous severe thunderstorms moved from southwest to northeast across northeast Montana. 75 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
1
Property damage
$315,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
32

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 GGW wrote it up.

Over almost a four hour period, numerous severe thunderstorms moved from southwest to northeast across northeast Montana. These storms produced winds to 92 miles an hour, several small tornadoes and hail to a size of 1.75 inches. The community of Opheim was hit hardest by straight line winds and a weak tornado. Most of downtown Opheim was damaged including the front wall of the local hotel taken down. Power was out for most of the Opheim area for more than 18 hours. A state disaster declaration was declared for the Opheim area. The town of Froid suffered damage from straight line winds which pushed a concrete grain elevator off of its foundation. At the Fort Peck Lake Marina, significant damage was done to boats, docks and campers at the storms passed. One home in Fort Peck lost its roof.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

24 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Petroleum

When
June 21, 4:15 PM MST
Where
Petroleum County, 26 mi N of Winnett
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.380, -108.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Phillips

When
June 21, 5:00 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 20 mi S of Zortman
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.630, -108.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
June 21, 5:30 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, Jordan
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.320, -106.880

Hail, Garfield

When
June 21, 5:30 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, Jordan
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
47.320, -106.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Petroleum

When
June 21, 5:30 PM MST
Where
Petroleum County, 38 mi NNE of Winnett
Measured
59 kt (68 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.520, -108.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Prairie

When
June 21, 6:02 PM MST
Where
Prairie County, 35 mi NW of Terry
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.150, -105.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
June 21, 6:03 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 20 mi N of Jordan
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.600, -106.880

Hail, Phillips

When
June 21, 6:05 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, Zortman
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.920, -108.530

Thunderstorm Wind, McCone

When
June 21, 6:14 PM MST
Where
McCone County, Vida
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
47.830, -105.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 6:18 PM MST
Where
Valley County, Ft Peck
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.020, -106.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 6:30 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 2 mi W of Ft Peck
Property damage
$8,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.020, -106.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Phillips

When
June 21, 6:30 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 11 mi WNW of Saco
Property damage
$3,000
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.530, -107.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Prairie

When
June 21, 6:40 PM MST
Where
Prairie County, 25 mi NW of Terry
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.030, -105.670

Tornado, Phillips

When
June 21, 6:43 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 7 mi N of Saco
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.570, -107.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 6:45 PM MST
Where
Valley County, Tampico
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.300, -106.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 6:45 PM MST
Where
Valley County, Glasgow
Measured
58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.200, -106.630

Tornado, Valley

When
June 21, 6:45 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 14 mi NW of Glasgow
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
40 yd
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.350, -106.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 6:46 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 3 mi SW of Vandalia
Measured
80 kt (92 mph)
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
48.320, -106.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 7:20 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 15 mi S of Opheim
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage
$3,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.630, -106.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 7:20 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 13 mi N of Oswego
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.230, -105.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
June 21, 7:26 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Poplar
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.100, -105.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
June 21, 7:28 PM MST
Where
Valley County, Opheim
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.850, -106.400

Hail, Roosevelt

When
June 21, 7:29 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 21 mi N of Wolf Pt
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.400, -105.650

Tornado, Valley

When
June 21, 7:30 PM MST
Where
Valley County, Opheim
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.850, -106.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When
June 21, 7:45 PM MST
Where
Richland County, 34 mi NW of Lambert
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.700, -104.980

Thunderstorm Wind, McCone

When
June 21, 7:45 PM MST
Where
McCone County, 5 mi N of Vida
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.900, -105.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Daniels

When
June 21, 7:48 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 1 mi SE of Flaxville
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.780, -105.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
June 21, 8:10 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, Froid
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.330, -104.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheridan

When
June 21, 8:11 PM MST
Where
Sheridan County, Plentywood
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.780, -104.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Daniels

When
June 21, 8:12 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 10 mi SSW of Peerless
Measured
63 kt (72 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.670, -105.900

Hail, Daniels

When
June 21, 8:12 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, 10 mi SSW of Peerless
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.670, -105.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Daniels

When
June 21, 8:14 PM MST
Where
Daniels County, Whitetail
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.900, -105.170

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Montana, 1999Warnings in Montana, June 1999

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: 5694674, 5694675, 5694676, 5694677, 5694819, 5694678, 5694679, 5694680, 5694816, 5694681, 5694682, 5694820, 5694683, 5694684, 5694685, 5694686, 5694687, 5694688, 5694689, 5694818, 5694690, 5694691, 5694692, 5694693, 5694694, 5694817, 5694695, 5694696, 5694697, 5694698, 5694699, 5694815.