Hail and Damaging Wind in Montana, July 15, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Montana, July 15, 2002
Start: 2002-07-15T16:45
End: 2002-07-15T20:15
Location: Montana

July 15, 2002 · NWS BYZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 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: 2

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 Jul 15, 1:39 PM MST, 3 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 1:39 PM MST, 3 hours 6 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
239 PM MDT MON JUL 15 2002

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR TUE...WED...THU...
ACTIVE PATTERN SETTING UP FOR NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. EASTERLY LOW LEVEL
FLOW WILL ALLOW MOISTURE TO CREEP INTO EAST OVER NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS
AND SHORTWAVE ENERGY RIDING SOUTHWEST UPPER FLOW PASSES OVER AREA. AVN
AND ETA DIFFERING IN TIMING OF ENERGY...AND WILL LEAN MORE TOWARD ETA
FOR THIS PACKAGE.

TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...CONVECTION ONCE AGAIN UNDERWAY ACROSS THE
MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON. UPPER WAVE WILL PASS ACROSS THE WESTERN PART
OF THE CWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. SURFACE WINDS WILL TURN
MORE EASTERLY AS SURFACE HIGH DEVELOPS ACROSS SOUTHERN CANADA...
ALLOWING MORE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO BEGIN WORKING ITS WAY INTO THE
AREA. WILL HAVE HIGHEST POPS IN THE WEST WITH UPPER SUPPORT...BUT WILL
NOT RULE OUT ISOLATED STORM EAST. AIR STABILIZES SOMEWHAT BEHIND INITIAL
WAVE...SO AREA SHOULD SEE BREAK FROM STORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT. TUESDAY
TEMPS WILL CONTINUE DOWNWARD TREND...BUT WILL STILL BE NEAR 100 FAR
SOUTHEAST. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE...INCREASING
INSTABILITY. ETA SHOWING AXIS OF GREATEST INSTABILITY CLIPPING NORTHEAST
ZONES TOMORROW AFTERNOON IN AREA WHERE MOISTURE POOLING EXPECTED TO BE
GREATEST. WILL BROADBRUSH CHANCE POPS ACROSS CWA FOR TOMORROW AFTERNOON
AS MORE UPPER ENERGY WORKS NORTHEASTWARD.

TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...EASTERLY FLOW PROGGED UP THROUGH 700 MB...
WHICH WILL ALLOW AMPLE MOISTURE TO MAKE ITS WAY INTO MUCH OF CWA. THIS
TREND SHOWN WELL IN PRECIPITABLE WATER...WHICH INCREASES TO 1.5 INCHES
ACROSS EAST. WILL BROADBRUSH HIGHER SCATTERED POPS ACROSS ENTIRE CWA...
WITH DECENT SHORTWAVE SLOWLY PUSHING ACROSS SOUTHERN MONTANA THROUGH THE
PERIOD. WILL ALSO GO A FEW DEGREES COOLER THAN PREVIOUS FORECAST...AS
INCREASING MOISTURE AND DEEP EASTERLY FLOW WILL LIMIT WARMING.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SOUTHERLY MID LEVEL FLOW CONTINUES WITH SUB-TROPICAL
MOISTURE INTO AREA (PRECP WATER VALUES OVER AN INCH)...WITH FAIRLY MOIST
EASTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW. AVN FORECASTING SHORTWAVE ENERGY TO MOVE UP
INTO SOUTHERN ZONES OVERNIGHT...THAN ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY. SURFACE
FRONT ALSO SHOULD BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA...INTO EASTERN ZONES
THURSDAY AFTERNOON. PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES REMAIN HIGH WITH
RELATIVELY WEAK UPPER LEVEL WINDS. THIS SHOULD HELP FIRE WEATHER
SITUATION SOMEWHAT WITH HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND WETTER STORMS.
WILL UP POPS INTO HIGHER SCATTERED CATEGORY. JZ/RASCH

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR FRI...SAT...SUN...MON...
FLOW FORECASTED TO BEGIN TURNING MORE WESTERLY THURSDAY NIGHT
INTO EARLY FRIDAY. FLOW LOOKS UNSETTLED EARLY FRIDAY AND WILL KEEP
CURRENT SCATTERED POPS IN. SATURDAY MODELS IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT
CHANCES LOOK LESS WITH DRIER MORE WESTERLY UPPER FLOW OVER AREA AND
ACTUALLY SHORTWAVE RIDGE FORECASTED OVER AREA. OVERALL LOOKS LIKE A
FAIRLY DRY PATTERN AND WILL TAKE CHANCES OUT. SUNDAY...FASTER AND
DRIER WESTERLY FLOW FORECASTED OVER AREA AS FAIRLY STRONG SHORTWAVE
MOVES ACROSS SOUTHERN CANADA...LOOKING MORE WINDY AND WET. EXT-AVN THEN
FORECASTING TROUGHINESS TO MOVE INTO AREA END OF THE EXTENDED FOR COOLER
TEMPS. WILL KEEP A CHANCE IN FOR MONDAY...WITH COOLING TREND. RASCH

    TUE     WED     THU     FRI     SAT     SUN     MON
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 066/093 065/088 063/085 060/087 062/090 063/090 065/087
    34/T    44/T    44/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B
LVM 058/090 058/087 056/084 057/086 059/089 060/089 062/086
    44/T    44/T    44/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B
HDN 065/095 066/090 064/087 061/089 063/092 064/092 066/089
    34/T    44/T    43/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B
MLS 070/097 068/091 066/088 063/090 065/091 066/091 068/088
    34/T    44/T    44/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B
4BQ 068/098 067/092 065/089 062/091 064/092 065/092 067/089
    23/T    44/T    44/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B
BHK 065/095 067/088 065/085 062/087 064/090 065/090 067/087
    23/T    44/T    44/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B
SHR 062/096 062/089 060/086 057/088 059/091 060/091 062/088
    23/T    44/T    43/T    43/T    00/B    00/B    00/B

.BYZ...
MT...NONE.
WY...NONE.

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Sweet Grass

When: July 15, 4:45 PM MST
Where: Sweet Grass County, Mc Leod
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.667, -110.117

Hail, Rosebud

When: July 15, 8:15 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 10 mi W of Sumatra
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.617, -107.767

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, 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: 5304075, 5304076.