Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, June 27, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, June 27, 2002
Start: 2002-06-27T16:35
End: 2002-06-27T18:20
Location: Montana

June 27, 2002 · NWS MSO · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms brought strong winds across Missoula County and large hail to Powell, Lake, and Flathead Counties. Heavy rain flooded basements in Polson, power was knocked out in the Missoula and northern Bitterroot Valleys, and hail up to golf ball-size was reported in Charlo.

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: 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.

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 Jun 27, 12:54 PM MST, 3 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 27, 12:54 PM MST, 3 hours 41 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
154 PM MDT THU JUN 27 2002

.SHORT TERM...PACIFIC TROUGH STARTING TO MAKES ITS MOVE INLAND OVER
THE NEXT 24 HOURS...WITH COOL FRONT PASSING OVER THE DIVIDE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE
MAINLY ALONG THE DIVIDE THIS EVENING AND SHOULD END BY MIDNIGHT.
FOCUS THEN SHIFTS AGAIN TO THE WEST WHERE STRONG WESTERLY JET OVER
THE PACIFIC WILL BRING MORE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY TO THE REGION.

MODELS BRING A WEAK VORT LOBE OVERNIGHT INTO NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO
FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS WHICH SHOULD END AFTER DAYBREAK. BY FRIDAY
AFTERNOON THE SURFACE HEAT TROUGH WILL LIE OVER WEST CENTRAL MT
TO SOUTHWEST IDAHO. THUS...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD POP UP THERE AGAIN WITH GOOD INSTABILITY
AND MOISTURE STILL IN PLACE.

FRIDAY NIGHT THE PACIFIC TROUGH MOVES INLAND. GOOD SURGE OF
MOISTURE MAKES ITS WAY INTO ID AND MT WITH SHOWERS BECOMING
LIKELY OVER THE NORTH AND WESTERN ZONES THROUGH MIDDAY SATURDAY.
WINDS WILL PICK UP THROUGHOUT THE REGION SAT...WITH A CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN ZONES. TEMPERATURES
WILL COOL BELOW NORMALS WITH CLOUD COVER AND SHOWER ACTIVITY. AS THE
FIRST SURGE PASSES SATURDAY NIGHT...SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH DURING THE
LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

ON SUNDAY...STRONG PACIFIC JET NOSES INTO ID PANHANDLE AND NORTHWEST
MT FOR THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY WITH SLIGHT
CHANCES ELSEWHERE. BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE WITH
TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMALS. FELSCH

.LONG TERM...WESTERLY FLOW ON MONDAY WITH A SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS
THE CWA. WILL HOLD ON TO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS. ON TUESDAY AN
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH STARTS DIGGING DOWN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC COAST
WHILE A WEAK RIDGE PUSHES UP FROM THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. WILL KEEP
CONDITIONS DRY ON TUESDAY. WEDNESDAY THE TROUGH STARTS TO ROTATE
TOWARD THE CWA. WILL INTRODUCE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS ACROSS
THE NORTH. THURSDAY THE TROUGH HAS MOVED CLOSER TO THE CWA WITH A
SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER THE REGION. WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS ACROSS THE NORTH AND WEST. A SLOW WARMING TREND THROUGH
THE PERIOD. KOLATA

.MSO...NONE.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EWW 055/087 057/079 050/073 30306726
     EBBE 048/078 050/080 051/081 053/080 3922000112
FCA EWW 053/083 056/072 047/068 30305625
     EBBE 048/072 050/074 051/076 053/074 3922000112
POL EWE 060/077 059/073 055/070 30327724
     EBBB 050/077 052/079 053/081 055/078 3922000111
MSO EWE 058/082 058/074 050/072 30226622
     EBBB 049/079 052/081 053/083 055/080 3922000011
HMM EWE 060/083 060/075 051/074 30325721
     EBBB 050/079 054/081 055/083 057/081 3922000001
BTM EWE 052/085 053/075 045/072 30333632
     BBBB 046/075 048/076 049/079 051/077 3911000000
ORO EWE 060/086 060/078 056/077 30226725
     BBBE 053/083 056/083 057/085 056/081 3922000101
GRV EWE 058/082 059/073 052/072 30227722
     BBBB 050/079 054/080 055/083 053/078 3922000111
SMN EEE 054/086 055/077 048/074 30322551
     BBBB 049/080 053/081 054/083 055/080 3911000001

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Powell

When: June 27, 4:35 PM MST
Where: Powell County, 9 mi SSE of Ovando
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.900, -113.067

Thunderstorm Wind, Missoula

When: June 27, 5:40 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, Seeley Lake
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.267, -113.533

Hail, Lake

When: June 27, 5:41 PM MST
Where: Lake County, Charlo
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.433, -114.167

Thunderstorm Wind, Missoula

When: June 27, 5:46 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, 10 mi N of Missoula
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.033, -114.000

Hail, Flathead

When: June 27, 6:20 PM MST
Where: Flathead County, Bigfork
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.067, -114.067

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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, June 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: 5300303, 5300304, 5300305, 5300306, 5300307.