Montana, 2001

Damaging Wind in Montana, July 31, 2001

July 31, 2001 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 2:00 AM MST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 2:00 AM MST, 6 hours before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 AM MDT TUE JUL 31 2001

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CURRENTLY OUT FOR BURN AREAS. LAW
ENFORCEMENT HAVE HAD NO REPORTS OF ANY FLOODING...BUT WITH
POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY SHOWERS THRU THE MORNING...WILL CONTINUE THE
WARNING UNTIL MID-DAY. CURRENT WATER VAPOR SHOT SHOWS TROF OVER ID
PAN HANDLE. ETA MOVES THIS TROF FAIRLY RAPIDLY...OVER SW MT BY
12Z...ERN MT BY 00Z WED. TROF WILL BE OUT OF THE STATE WITH EVEN
ERN MT UNDER WEAK RIDGING BY 12Z WED. SOME INSTABILITY REMAINS
TODAY ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES AND DAKOTAS...BY WED ENTIRE STATE
SHOULD BE RELATIVELY STABLE. FEATURES LINE UP WELL...COOLING ALOFT
FROM TROF PASSAGE WILL BE ABOUT 3-4 DEGREES...7H SHOWS FORECASTED
CLOSED CIRCULATION AT 12Z...AND CIRCULATION HOLDS TOGETHER AS THE
TROF MOVES EAST. ALSO E-W 850/SFC BOUNDARY ACROSS CENTRAL MT AND
SHOULD CONTINUE TO GENERATE GOOD SURFACE CONVERGENCE. ALSO HAVE
PRETTY HEALTHY DEWPOINTS ACROSS THE STATE...UPPER 40S AND 50S ARE
PRETTY COMMON. WILL GO WITH HIGH POPS TODAY...CENTRAL AND NORTHERN
ZONES. IN THE SW...DRYING DURING THE DAY ALTHOUGH AIRMASS SHOULD
SUPPORT SHOWERS THRU THE DAY.

EXTENDED....UKMET HAS TROF OVER ERN PAC...ECMWF HAS IT OVER
OR/WA/NRN CA....AND NEW MRF DELAYS TROF APPROACHING ZONES THIS
WEEKEND. DISLIKE UPDATING BASED ON A CHANGE IN A SINGLE RUN HOWEVER
NEW RUN IS MORE CONSISTENT WITH ECMWF AND RIDGE COULD DELAY CHANCE
OF THUNDERSTORMS. HOWEVER...WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW AND INCREASING
SURFACE TEMPS...CONVECTION IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION AS EARLY AS
SATURDAY.

ZELZER

CCF NUMBERS
GTF RB 064/048 078/051 084 13911
CTB RB 063/Y046 075/050 076 13921
HLN WU 066/045 080/048 086 13611
BZN WB 070/042 080/046 081 13511
WEY WB 066/032 072/034 074 13511
DLN WB 065/042 078/046 081 13411
HVR RU 065/050 080/052 085 13931
LWT WB 062/045 075/047 077 13811

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fergus

When
July 31, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Fergus County, Lewistown
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.067, -109.417

Microburst wind gust reported by general public in Lewistown...Branches ripped from trees and propelled into side of house...Shingles and six-foot wide sections of skirting ripped from mobile home...Tree uprooted and dropped on house and automobile...Large metal garbage container (dumpster) blown over...Boat moved by wind...Hot tub damaged...Monetary damage unknown.

What these are

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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 2001

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: 5261013.