Montana, 2002

High Wind in Montana, August 16, 2002

August 16, 2002 · NWS BYZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

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

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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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 8:23 AM MST, 3 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 8:23 AM MST, 3 hours 37 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
923 AM MDT FRI AUG 16 2002

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR TDY AND SAT...
UPDATE TO ZFP. THINGS STILL ON TRACK FOR HIGH WINDS ACROSS SOUTHERN
MONTANA AND SHERIDAN COUNTY WYOMING. CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS IS SHOWING
LOW A BIT DEEPER AND FURTHER SOUTH THAN MODEL INITIALIZATION. THIS
SHOULD ACTUALLY PUT SOUTHERN MONTANA IN BETTER LOCATION FOR HIGH WINDS.
UPPER AIR ANALYSIS INDICATING 100 KT JET MAX AT 500 MB OVER SOUTHEAST
B.C. WITH 120 KNOTS AT 250/300 MB. THIS AREA SHOULD PUSH ACROSS SOUTHERN
MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON AND ETA PICKS UP ON THIS PUSHING 85 KT 500 MB
WINDS AND 110 KT 300 MB WINDS ACROSS AREA BETWEEN 18Z AND 00Z. PRESSURE
RISES ALREADY HIGH IN NORTHERN WASHINGTON BEHIND THE FRONT. ETA TAKING
BEST PRESSURE RISES JUST NORTH OF BILLINGS COUNTY WARNING AREA THIS
AFTERNOON...BUT THIS MAY BE A BIT TOO FAR NORTH GIVEN LOCATION OF LOW AT
THIS TIME. WILL TWEAK WINDS UP IN LVM TO JUST BELOW HIGH WINDS.
TEMPERATURES WILL BE TOUGH CALL TODAY...BUT GOOD AMPLIFICATION LIKELY
AHEAD OF THE FRONT WITH COMPRESSIONAL HEATING AND FORECASTED HIGHS LOOK
ON TRACK. SHOWERS HAVE MOVED OUT OF SOUTHEAST THIS MORNING AND WILL TAKE
THIS OUT. CONSIDERED PUTTING POPS IN NORTHEAST ZONES BUT EXPECT STRONG
SUBSIDENCE TO KEEP IT OUT. UPDATE ON THE WAY. RASCH

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR SUN...MON...TUE...WED...THU...

MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH EARLY WED WITH WEST TO NORTHWEST
FLOW PREVAILING ACROSS THE AREA AS A TROUGH MOVES INTO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST. BY WED...THE MRF AND ECMWF SHOW THE TROUGH MOVING SOUTH INTO
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH THE UKMET SHOWING SIGNS OF CLOSING IT OFF OVER
THAT REGION. BY WED NIGHT INTO THURS...THE UKMET COMPLETELY CLOSES THE
LOW OFF OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH THE OTHER MODELS KEEPING IT OPEN
WITH SW FLOW RETURNING AND DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUING. HOWEVER...THE MRF
AND UKMET SHOW A SURFACE LOW DEVELOPING IN THE VICINITY OF NORTHEASTERN
WYOMING WITH SOME PRECIP MOVING INTO OUR FAR SOUTHEAST ZONES.
ALTHOUGH...PREVIOUS RUNS DID NOT SHOW THIS. THEREFORE...WILL LEAVE
CURRENT ZERO POPS AS IS. TEMPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE BELOW NORMAL WITH
LOWS IN THE MIDDLE 40S TO LOWER 50S AND HIGHS AROUND 80.  HOOLEY

    TDY SAT     SUN     MON     TUE     WED     THU
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 078 044/078 049/075 046/079 050/079 050/079 053/076
    0/N 00/U    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
LVM 078 039/077 045/074 042/075 046/075 047/075 049/074
    0/N 00/U    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
HDN 080 042/078 048/075 045/080 050/080 051/080 053/078
    0/N 00/U    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
MLS 081 045/075 049/074 046/079 051/079 048/079 052/076
    0/N 00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
4BQ 082 044/077 049/074 044/078 049/078 051/078 053/077
    0/N 00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
BHK 080 043/073 047/072 041/077 046/077 050/077 051/074
    0/N 00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
SHR 082 040/077 045/074 044/079 047/079 048/079 052/077
    0/N 00/U    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B

.BYZ...
MT...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST AND
SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA.

WY...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF
SHERIDAN COUNTY.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Musselshell

When
August 16, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Musselshell forecast zone
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.497, -108.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

70 mph non-thunderstorm wind gust

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, August 2002

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: 5315071.