Damaging Winds in Montana, July 13, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Montana, July 13, 2002
Start: 2002-07-13T20:10
End: 2002-07-13T22:22
Location: Montana

July 13, 2002 · NWS MSO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Strong thunderstorm winds gusting between 58 to 65 mph caused wind damage in northwest Montana during the evening hours. Most significant damage was on the west end of St.

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: 1
Property damage: $360,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 MSO wrote it up.

Strong thunderstorm winds gusting between 58 to 65 mph caused wind damage in northwest Montana during the evening hours. Most significant damage was on the west end of St. Regis in Mineral County, where numerous large pine trees fell down causing damage of $360,000. Fallen trees damaged a camper and 12 homes on Camels Hump Road. Twelve separate fires were started in Mineral County as trees fell onto power lines and roadways. Highway I-90 was temporarily closed due to fallen trees. A search and rescue worker was injured on I-90, when she was struck in the head by a four-inch diameter falling cottonwood branch. Wind damage was reported near Plains in Sanders County, where strong winds blew a barn off it's foundation 15 feet, and a garage was damaged by a fallen tree. Power outages and small fires were also reported by fallen trees onto power lines in Sanders, Missoula, Lake and Flathead Counties. In Kalispell, a section of awning along the roof line of Wendy's restaurant blew off onto two cars.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 13, 7:45 PM MST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 13, 7:45 PM MST, 25 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
845 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 2002

.SHORT TERM...NO UPDATES PLANNED THIS EVENING. CONVECTITELY ACTIVE
SCENARIO CONTINUES TO PLAY OUT THIS EVENING ACROSS THE CWA. HOT DRY
CONDITIONS NEAR THE SURFACE WITH MID/HIGH LEVEL SUB-MOISTURE ARCHING
NORTH AROUND A STRONG UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER UTAH. SOME OF THE
HIGHEST CAPE VALUES SEEN IN WHILE PAINTED ACROSS NORTHWEST MONTANA
THIS EVENING. POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR ISOLATED SEVERE TONIGHT AS A WAVE
OF ENERGY SWEEPS ACROSS THE THE REGION OF HIGHEST CAPE AND THET-E
RICH AIR. WILL ALLOW RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING AND GUSTY
WINDS TO EXPIRE ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF MONTANA AS LIGHTNING
ACTIVITY DECREASES.

LATEST MESOETA SHOWS THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTING EAST AND A SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPING OVER THE REGION. A WEAK DISTURBANCE MOVES
THROUGH EARLY IN THE DAY SUNDAY WITH ANOTHER DISTURBANCE MOVING
THROUGH FARTHER SOUTH LATER IN THE DAY. ADDED LIFT WILL BE PROVIDED
BY THE RIGHT-ENTRANCE REGION OF A JET JUST AHEAD OF AN UPPER TROUGH
MAKING LANDFALL IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS PROMISES TO BE ANOTHER
CONVECTIVELY ACTIVE PERIOD FOR SUNDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING. MSJ

.LONG TERM...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE ENERGY
WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE TO A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION IN THE
FORECAST THROUGH THURSDAY. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY THE ENERGY IS DIRECTED
MORE IN THE SOUTHERN ZONES SO WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THERE.
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN STEADY AROUND 90 THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD.
GILCHRIST

.MSO...RED FLAG WARNING FOR DRY LIGHTNING/GUSTY WINDS IN FIRE WEATHER
       ZONES 108 109 110 111 TIL 04Z TONIGHT.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB BUB 062/090 055/090 052/091 28420000
     BBUU 051/091 052/091 053/092 054/092 3311110000
FCA BUB 060/088 050/085 049/086 28330000
     BBUU 049/086 049/086 050/088 051/088 3322110000
POL BUB 063/087 058/083 054/084 28330000
     BBUU 053/085 055/085 056/085 057/085 3321110000
MSO BBB 062/090 055/088 056/091 28231001
     BBBB 053/091 053/091 054/092 056/092 3321211111
HMM BBB 065/090 056/088 053/089 28231011
     BBBB 052/091 053/091 054/092 056/092 3321211111
BTM BBB 056/090 053/086 052/086 28242112
     BBBB 048/087 049/087 050/089 051/089 3331211111
ORO BUB 070/092 063/091 062/093 28420011
     BUUU 059/093 061/093 062/095 063/095 3331100000
GRV BUB 067/088 057/087 055/087 28320011
     BBUU 052/088 054/088 055/090 057/090 3331100000
SMN BBB 058/094 053/090 053/088 28232112
     BBBB 050/091 051/090 052/092 053/092 3321111111

The radar

The Missoula radar (KMSX), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:07 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mineral

When: July 13, 8:10 PM MST to 8:30 PM MST
Where: Mineral County, St Regis
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $360,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 47.300, -115.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Missoula

When: July 13, 8:40 PM MST to 9:20 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, Missoula Southwest
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.850, -114.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: July 13, 8:55 PM MST to 9:30 PM MST
Where: Lake County, Arlee
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.150, -114.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Sanders

When: July 13, 9:00 PM MST to 10:22 PM MST
Where: Sanders County, Plains
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.450, -114.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Flathead

When: July 13, 9:40 PM MST to 9:50 PM MST
Where: Flathead County, Lakeside
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.017, -114.217

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

Every storm in Montana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, July 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: 5309109, 5309110, 5309111, 5309112, 5309113.