Montana, 2001

Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 5, 2001

July 5, 2001 · NWS GGW · 9 events in 5 counties and zones

A thunderstorm moving across the northeast corner of the state produced 80 to 100 mph measured wind gusts. A semi-truck and trailer were flipped over, and several homes had damage to roofing.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$25,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

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.

A thunderstorm moving across the northeast corner of the state produced 80 to 100 mph measured wind gusts. A semi-truck and trailer were flipped over, and several homes had damage to roofing. Many trees had large branches broken out of them, and a few were completely uprooted.

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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 5, 8:10 AM MST, 11 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 5, 8:10 AM MST, 11 hours 30 minutes before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
910 AM MDT THU JUL 5 2001

UPDATES ON THE WAY.

UPPER LEVEL RIDGE REMAINS CENTERED OVER EASTERN MONTANA THIS
MORNING. 12Z ETA DOING A GOOD JOB OF INITIALIZING UPPER LEVEL
FEATURES. SURFACE OBS SHOW INSTABILITY/MOISTURE AXIS IN PLACE ALONG
A LINE FROM MALTA...TO JORDAN...TO MILES CITY. BOTH THE 06Z AVN AND
THE 12Z ETA DO A GOOD JOB OF PICKING THIS UP. GIVEN THE BETTER
INITIALIZATION OF THE UPPER LEVEL FEATURES WITH THE ETA...I AM
INCLINED TO RELY MORE ON THE ETA FOR DETAILS THAN THE AVN. BY 00Z
THE ETA PRODUCES LI/S OF -5 ACROSS ENTIRE EASTERN HALF OF CWA. 700MB
TROUGH OVER WESTERN HALF OF CWA AT THIS TIME WILL HELP TO PRODUCE
SOME LIFT OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS. FORECAST SOUNDINGS NEAR SIDNEY
AND PLENTYWOOD INDICATE CAPE VALUES OF 2200-2600 J/KG. LOW LEVEL
SOUTHEAST FLOW WITH WESTERLY UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL PROVIDE A GOOD
SHEAR ENVIRONMENT. FOCUS OF ANY SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD BE CONFINED TO
THE EASTERN HALF OF MY CWA THIS AFTERNOON. WILL UPDATE TO ADD
MENTION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  POHL

EXTENDED...NE MT REMAINS ON PERIPHERY OF UPPER HIGH THAT SHIFTS
BETWEEN THE CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS AND CENTRAL ROCKIES FOR THE
FORESEEABLE FUTURE. SHORTWAVES CONTINUE TO ROTATE AROUND THIS HIGH
ACROSS MT BUT TRACK OF THESE WAVES CHANGES FROM RUN TO RUN. WILL NOT
CHANGE EXTENDED.  FORRESTER

KGGW /089 062/080 05@3/085 057/087 057/087 059/088 060/086
      TBBTABB  79331/7923222
KGDV /090 062/082 052/083 056/087 056/088 058/089 057/085
      TBBTABB  79431/7923222

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
July 5, 7:40 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 15 mi N of Brockton
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.367, -104.917

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
July 5, 7:40 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 17 mi N of Brockton
Measured
73 kt (84 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.400, -104.917

Hail, Dawson

When
July 5, 7:50 PM MST
Where
Dawson County, Glendive
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.100, -104.733

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
July 5, 7:50 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 11 mi W of Froid
Measured
73 kt (84 mph)
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.333, -104.733

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When
July 5, 7:50 PM MST
Where
Roosevelt County, 6 mi SW of Froid
Measured
88 kt (101 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.267, -104.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheridan

When
July 5, 8:20 PM MST
Where
Sheridan County, Homestead
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.433, -104.500

Tornado, Richland

When
July 5, 8:21 PM MST
Where
Richland County, 6 mi NW of Sidney
Rating
F0
Path width
50 yd
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
47.767, -104.233

Storm chaser reported a brief tornado touchdown in a field. No damage occurred.

Hail, Richland

When
July 5, 8:34 PM MST
Where
Richland County, 5 mi N of Sidney
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.767, -104.150

Hail, Prairie

When
July 5, 10:30 PM MST
Where
Prairie County, 3 mi SW of Terry
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
46.750, -105.350

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.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Montana, 2001Warnings 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: 5262077, 5262078, 5262079, 5262080, 5262081, 5262082, 5262083, 5262084, 5262085.