Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, August 6 to 7, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, August 6 to 7, 2002
Start: 2002-08-06T18:45
End: 2002-08-07T21:15
Location: Montana

August 6 to 7, 2002 · NWS GGW · 14 events in 7 counties and zones

11 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 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: 14

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 6, 2:35 PM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 2:35 PM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes before

NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
335 PM MDT TUE AUG 6 2002

.SHORT TERM..
18Z SOUNDING WAS RELEASED TODAY AND IS SHOWING A STRONGER CAP AT 800 MB
THAN EXPECTED. A SURFACE BOUNDARY HAS SET UP FROM NEAR LWT...N OF
MALTA...N OF GGW AND NOW JUST N OF ISN AND SHOULD BE A GOOD RUNNING
BOARD FOR AN MCS THIS AFTERNOON. A LOT GOING ON AS TORNADO WATCH WAS
ISSUED RATHER QUICKLY. EARLIER THOUGHTS OF A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAVE
BEEN SCRAPED...BUT TRAINING MULTI-CELL THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
TONIGHT. SINCE GROUND IS WET ACROSS THE NW ZONES (ESPECIALLY SW
PHILLIPS COUNTY)...EVENING SHIFT MAY WANT TO ISSUE A WATCH IF NEEDED.

OTHERWISE...SURFACE MAP SHOWING LOW PRESSURE OVER SE MT WITH A COLD
FRONT PUSHING SE INTO MY NW ZONES. LIKE PREVIOUS CANADIAN AIRMASSES IN
THE PAST WEEK OR TWO...IT/S ABNORMALLY STRONG (E.G. TEMPS STRUGGLING TO
REACH 60 AT CALGARY ALBERTA). AM EXPECTING THIS COOL AIR TO BE A
DOMINANT FACTOR TONIGHT (THE COOLER MAV TEMPS LOOKING GOOD).

SURFACE LOW MOVES INTO THE WESTERN DAKOTAS TOMORROW...WHILE THE UPPER
TROF SLOWLY DRIFTS ACROSS THE PACIFIC NW. SW UPPER FLOW WILL KEEP
ATMOSPHERE UNSTABLE WITH CAPES PEAKING OUT NEAR 1500 J/KG WITH LI/S
-6. COOLER MAV TEMPS LOOK BEST AND CONVECTION WILL BE ELEVATED.

UPPER TROF THEN WORKS EAST AND CUTS OFF BEFORE IT WORKS INTO SE ID
THURSDAY. SURFACE LOW WILL HANG OVER THE DAKOTAS...SO CHANCES OF RAIN
LOOK GOOD. COLD POOL OF AIR DROPS INTO ID AND WY WITH THIS SYSTEM...SO
WE SHOULDN/T HAVE TO DEAL WITH RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPS.  JAMBA

.LONG TERM...
12Z AVN A BIT SLOWER WITH EXITING UPPER LOW LATER THIS WEEK. ITS TIMING
MORE IN LINE WITH ECMWF SOLUTION. UPPER TROF THEN FOLLOWS THIS SYSTEM
FROM THE NW TO BRING ANOTHER COOL AIRMASS.   JAMBA

KGGW TTB 062/084 059/078 059/078 76466663
     BTBB 054/084 053/084 053/080 053/078 7600032011
KGDV TTB 063/086 060/079 060/080 76466663
     BTBE 054/085 055/084 055/081 055/079 7600132022

.GGW...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Prairie

When: August 6, 6:45 PM MST
Where: Prairie County, 35 mi NW of Terry
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.150, -105.833

80 mph wind reported by spotter 35 miles northwest of Terry.

Thunderstorm Wind, Prairie

When: August 6, 7:05 PM MST
Where: Prairie County, 32 mi NW of Terry
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.117, -105.783

69 mph wind reported at Big Sheep RAWS.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCone

When: August 6, 7:58 PM MST
Where: McCone County, 8 mi N of Circle
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.533, -105.600

80 mph wind reported by spotter 8 miles north of Circle.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCone

When: August 6, 8:15 PM MST
Where: McCone County, 10 mi S of Vida
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.683, -105.500

60 mph wind reported by spotter 10 miles south of Vida.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCone

When: August 6, 8:20 PM MST
Where: McCone County, 10 mi SW of Vida
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.733, -105.650

86 mph wind reported by spotter 10 miles southwest of Vida.

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When: August 6, 9:15 PM MST
Where: Valley County, 10 mi SW of Hinsdale
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.300, -107.233

Hail, Valley

When: August 6, 11:52 PM MST
Where: Valley County, 16 mi N of Oswego
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.283, -105.867

Hail, Garfield

When: August 7, 12:00 AM MST to 12:30 AM MST
Where: Garfield County, Cohagen
Measured: 2 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.033, -106.600

Hail, McCone

When: August 7, 12:45 AM MST
Where: McCone County, 10 mi N of Vida
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.983, -105.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When: August 7, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Roosevelt County, 8 mi E of (Olf)wolf Pt Int Arpt
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.283, -104.983

70 mph wind reported by spotter 8 miles east of the Wolf Point Airport.

Thunderstorm Wind, Richland

When: August 7, 1:45 AM MST
Where: Richland County, 40 mi NW of Sidney
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.117, -104.767

64 mph wind reported by spotter 40 miles northwest of Sidney.

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When: August 7, 2:00 AM MST
Where: Roosevelt County, 18 mi E of Bredette
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.500, -104.900

60 mph wind reported by spotter 18 miles east of Bredette.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheridan

When: August 7, 2:45 AM MST
Where: Sheridan County, 8 mi N of Raymond
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 49.000, -104.567

60 mph wind reported by U.S. Customs official at the Port of Raymond.

Thunderstorm Wind, Roosevelt

When: August 7, 9:15 PM MST
Where: Roosevelt County, 10 mi N of Poplar
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.250, -105.200

60 mph wind gust toppled a 12 inch diameter tree north of Poplar.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5317013, 5317122, 5317123, 5317124, 5317125, 5317133, 5317126, 5317134, 5317127, 5317128, 5317129, 5317130, 5317131, 5317132.