Montana, 2001

Hail and Damaging Wind in Montana, June 18, 2001

June 18, 2001 · NWS BYZ · 8 events in 4 counties and zones

7 hail, 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
8

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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 17, 7:42 PM MST, 4 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 7:42 PM MST, 4 hours 43 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
842 PM MDT SUN JUN 17 2001

.MON AND TUE...
NO UPDATES NEEDED TONIGHT. VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE ENTERING WESTERN MONTANA
WILL PUSH ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA TONIGHT. NEW ETA HITTING THE QPF HARD
ACROSS MOST AREAS THROUGH 12Z...WITH STRONG LIFT AFTER 06Z. CURRENTLY
IN THE WEST...CONVECTION SPREADING FROM THE SOUTHWEST COVERING MOST
COUNTIES WEST OF BILLINGS. TO THE EAST...AIRMASS UNSTABLE...BUT CAPPED
OUT WITH SOME WEAK ELEVATED CONVECTION ABOVE CAP. CAP SHOULD BREAK LATER
TONIGHT AFTER DYNAMICS ARRIVE. ALREADY HAD ONE SEVERE STORM TONIGHT...
AND WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE MORE TONIGHT. WILL TAKE A WAIT AND SEE
APPROACH TO ANY WEATHER WATCHES...PER COORDINATION WITH SPC. SCARLETT

.WED...THU...FRI...SAT...SUN...
SHOWERS WILL LINGER ACROSS SOUTHEAST MONTANA TUESDAY NIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY AS A SHORTWAVE IN NORTHWEST FLOW AFFECTS THAT AREA. AFTER
THAT...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER MONTANA...BRINGING
HOT AND DRY WEATHER TO THE AREA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THE RIDGE AXIS
WILL MOVE INTO EASTERN MONTANA SATURDAY AND INTO THE DAKOTAS SUNDAY...
ALLOWING THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA WEST OF THE AXIS.
MIDDENDORF

    MON     TUE     WED     THU     FRI     SAT     SUN
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 050/069 047/070 049/078 055/086 059/092 060/090 060/088
    73/T    22/W    00/U    00/U    00/U    03/T    33/T
LVM 045/067 043/070 043/077 048/085 052/089 055/088 053/085
    83/T    32/W    00/U    00/U    00/U    03/T    33/T
HDN 048/070 045/071 045/082 051/089 055/095 057/094 057/092
    73/T    22/W    00/U    00/U    00/U    03/T    33/T
MLS 054/064 048/073 049/077 055/087 059/092 062/094 062/094
    66/T    40/B    32/W    00/U    00/U    02/B    23/T
4BQ 053/063 047/072 047/075 053/085 057/090 060/092 060/092
    66/T    40/B    32/W    00/U    00/U    02/B    23/T
BHK 052/062 046/071 045/075 050/085 055/090 058/092 058/092
    66/T    40/B    32/W    00/U    00/U    02/B    23/T
SHR 048/071 043/072 043/077 048/085 052/091 055/091 055/089
    63/T    20/B    00/U    00/U    00/Uq    03/T    33/T

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 17, 8:03 PM MST, 4 hours 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS, MT
903 PM MDT SUN JUN 17 2001

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0713 PM    ABSAROKEE                 MT   1.25 INCH HAIL
06/17/01   STILLWATER                     HAILSTORM LASTED FROM 705
                                          PM TO 713 PM.

0721 PM    7 S COLUMBUS              MT   1.00 INCH HAIL
06/17/01   STILLWATER

JRS

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 157 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Rosebud

When
June 18, 12:25 AM MST
Where
Rosebud County, 4 mi S of Colstrip
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.833, -106.583

Hail, Rosebud

When
June 18, 12:25 AM MST
Where
Rosebud County, Ashland
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.600, -106.267

Hail, Powder River

When
June 18, 1:00 AM MST
Where
Powder River County, 40 mi NW of Broadus
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.867, -106.000

Hail, Custer

When
June 18, 1:10 AM MST
Where
Custer County, 25 mi S of Miles City
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.033, -105.833

Hail, Powder River

When
June 18, 1:15 AM MST
Where
Powder River County, 20 mi N of Broadus
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.733, -105.417

Hail, Carter

When
June 18, 1:55 AM MST
Where
Carter County, 20 mi S of Ekalaka
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.600, -104.550

Hail, Carter

When
June 18, 1:55 AM MST
Where
Carter County, 11 mi N of Ekalaka
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.050, -104.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Carter

When
June 18, 2:20 AM MST
Where
Carter County, 11 mi NE of Ekalaka
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.000, -104.383

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.

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, June 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: 5250274, 5250275, 5250272, 5250279, 5250273, 5250277, 5250278, 5250276.