Montana, 2002

Damaging Wind in Montana, August 31, 2002

August 31, 2002 · NWS GGW · 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

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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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 1:36 PM MST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 1:36 PM MST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
236 PM MDT SAT AUG 31 2002

.SHORT TERM...UPPER TROF MOVING ACROSS THE AREA AT PRESENT.  EARLIER
AREA OF SHOWERS AND STORMS NOW OFF TO OUR NORTHEAST...WITH THE NEXT
BATCH CURRENTLY OFF TO OUR SOUTHWEST AROUND BILLINGS ASSOCIATED WITH
VORT MAX.  MORNING MODELS PUSH MOST THE ENERGY SOUTH AND EAST OF THE
GLASGOW CWA BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON.  APPEARS THAT TIMING OF
THE MODELS IS TOO FAST...AS CONVECTION HERE WILL GO INTO THE EVENING
HOURS.  CAPES APPEAR A BIT UNDERDONE...BUT HIGHEST VALUES BEING
PROGGED NEAR THE NORTH DAKOTA BORDER LOOKS ABOUT RIGHT AS FAR AS PLACEMENT.
AIRMASS UNSTABLE...BUT NOT AS MUCH AS COULD BE THANKS TO THIS
MORNINGS CONVECTION.  BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE APPEARS TO BE OUR
SOUTHEAST COUNTIES.  AFTER THIS EVENING TROF PASSAGE...ATMOSPHERE
STABILIZES FOR TOMORROW.  A QUICK HITTER IN THE NORTHERN STREAM
EXPECTED TO CLIP US TOMORROW NIGHT.  NOT MUCH MOISTURE EXPECTED AS
DECENT WEST WIND TOMORROW HELPS DRY THINGS OUT...BUT DYNAMICS APPEAR
ROBUST ENUF TO PERHAPS SQUEEZE OUT A FEW SHOWERS.  FLOW FLATTENS OUT
MONDAY WITH AN UPPER RIDGE MOVING IN FOR TUESDAY.

.LONG TERM...UPPER RIDGE AXIS MOVES OFF TO OUR EAST TUESDAY NIGHT AS
UPPER TROF CARVES A BIT DEEPER ALONG THE WEST COAST.  RELATIVELY
WEAK SHORTWAVES BEGIN EJECTING OUR WAY WEDNESDAY...AND CONTINUE
THURSDAY AS THE TROF EXPECTED TO BEGIN LIFTING OUR WAY FOR THURSDAY
NIGHT OR EARLY FRIDAY PASSAGE.  LEE TROF OVER THE AREA AT THIS TIME
WILL ALSO AID IN CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL AS LOW LEVEL MOIST AIR IS
DRAWN IN FROM THE PLAINS.  NICE COLD FRONT SLATED FOR LATE THURSDAY
OR EARLY FRIDAY...SO A COOL END TO WEEK AND AT LEAST BEGINNING OF
NEXT WEEKEND EXPECTED.  VALONE

KGGW BBB 054/081 051/073 048/083 78212101
     BCBU 056/083 057/075 049/076 044/073 7812333211
KGDV BBB 057/083 051/075 049/086 78312101
     BEBU 056/085 057/077 049/078 044/075 7812333211

.GGW...NONE

The radar

The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:21 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
August 31, 4:20 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 20 mi N of Jordan
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.600, -106.883

60 mph wind gust at the Hell Creek Marina.

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 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: 5317220.