Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, May 19, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, May 19, 2002
Start: 2002-05-19T16:00
End: 2002-05-19T20:00
Location: Montana

May 19, 2002 · NWS MSO · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

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: 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.

Thunderstorms with strong winds and hail moved through western Montana during the late afternoon and evening hours. In Lolo and two miles south of Missoula, off duty NWS employees estimated wind speeds of 60 mph, which blew down a basketball hoop and mail boxes in Lolo. As the thunderstorm moved into Missoula, a wall cloud was reported by off duty NWS employee. As the thunderstorms continued to move through northwest Montana, damage was reported in Flathead and Sanders Counties where trees and power lines were blown down near Kalispell and Noxon, and from Ferndale to Columbia Falls along Highway 206. Strong thunderstorm winds caused damage in Lincoln County, where numerous trees were reported down in the Silver Butte and Middle Thompson Lake areas, and along Highway 37 outside of Libby. The hardest hit area was from Farm to Market Road from Libby Creek to near Granite Creek were hundreds of trees were uprooted and lying across yards and driveways, and across roof tops and some vehicles. In Yaak, a tree fell across the highway pinning a passing motorist in her car. The woman was transported to St. John's Hospital in Libby. In Libby, a road sign was blown down and a roof was blown off a building and almost hit a car. Later in the evening, one inch hail was reported in Pinnacle in Flathead County.

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 May 19, 1:20 PM MST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 1:20 PM MST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
220 PM MDT SUN MAY 19 2002

.SHORT TERM...UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE REGION TONIGHT WILL KEEP
CONVECTION OVER THE AREA THROUGH MIDNIGHT. THE MOST IMPRESSIVE
INSTABILITY FOR POSSIBLE SEVERE STORMS IS FROM THE NORTHERN
CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS THROUGH NORTHWEST MONTANA. LAST NIGHTS
CONVECTION SEEMED TO FOLLOW THE 324 THETA E RIDGE...SO EXPECT THE
CONVECTION TO LAST OVER NORTHWEST MONTANA THROUGH MIDNIGHT AS THE 324
THETA E RIDGE REMAINS OVER THIS LOCATION THROUGH 09Z.
FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO BACK SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT AS THE NEGATIVE TILT
UPPER LOW APPROACHES THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST. MORE MOISTURE
WILL GET ADVECTED NORTH OVER IDAHO OVERNIGHT GIVING THEM THE BEST
CHANCE OF SHOWERS MONDAY. THERMAL RIDGE REMAINS OVER WESTERN MONTANA
EARLY MONDAY...THEN SLIDES EAST IN THE AFTERNOON. WILL THEREFORE KEEP
TEMPERATURES ON THE WARM SIDE...BUT COOLER THAN TODAY AS THERE SHOULD
BE MORE CLOUDS MONDAY. THERE IS ALSO SOME LINGERING INSTABILITY FROM
LEMHI COUNTY ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA MONDAY AFTERNOON SO KEEPING A
CHANCE OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED
LOCATIONS SEEM A GOOD BET. MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY THE LOW WILL
FILL AND WEAKEN INTO AN UPPER TROF AS IT CONTINUES TO MOVE INLAND.
THIS WILL RESULT IN WIDESPREAD RAIN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY
NIGHT AND TUESDAY. DECENT SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT SETS UP OVER THE
REGION TUESDAY FOR BREEZY AND COOLER CONDITIONS OVER THE REGION.
LOOKS AS THOUGH A BACK DOOR COLD FRONT TRIES TO MOVE OVER THE DIVIDE
WEDNESDAY WHICH COULD PROVIDE EVEN MORE RAIN. PLACEMENT OF 700MB LOW
TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY COULD PROVE INTERESTING FOR GLACIER PARK
AND THE DIVIDE. COULD BE A HEAVY RAIN PRODUCER WITH THE RIGHT
PLACEMENT. WILL HANDLE WITH LIKELY AND HIGH CHANCE PRECIPITATION
WORDING FOR NOW AND SEE HOW LATER RUNS POSITION THE LOW. COOLER THAN
NORMAL TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.     MEAD

.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY THE AREA WILL SEE
SCATTERED SHOWERS ON THE BACK SIDE OF AN UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER EASTERN
MONTANA AS IT EJECTS EASTWARD. FRIDAY A WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGE BUILDS
IN FOR DRIER CONDITIONS. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY SHOULD SEE MAINLY A
WESTERLY FLOW WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES...SO WILL
KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE FORECAST. TEMPERATURES WILL BE ON THE
REBOUND THROUGHOUT THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH INCREASES OF A COUPLE
OF DEGREES EACH DAY. GILCHRIST

.MSO...NONE.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EWW 048/071 042/062 038/058 27636635
     EBEE 040/061 040/064 041/067 041/069 3321001111
FCA EWW 050/072 045/061 041/056 27436655
     EBEE 038/058 038/063 039/065 039/067 3321001111
POL EWW 052/070 045/060 043/055 27436655
     EBEE 042/057 044/062 044/066 044/068 3321001111
MSO EWW 053/075 045/061 042/056 27336655
     EBEE 039/058 038/064 040/066 042/068 3331001111
HMM EWW 051/076 043/060 041/056 27336655
     EBEE 040/060 039/065 041/066 043/069 3331001111
BTM BWW 044/075 040/058 036/052 27426665
     EBEE 032/053 033/061 035/062 038/065 3331001111
ORO WWE 053/069 047/063 045/063 27456633
     EBEE 045/067 047/069 048/070 050/073 3321001111
GRV WWE 050/067 044/060 042/060 27456633
     EBEE 040/064 042/065 043/066 045/069 3321001111
SMN EWW 049/074 042/060 040/058 27426663
     EBEE 037/060 039/064 040/067 042/069 3321001111

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Missoula

When: May 19, 4:00 PM MST to 4:20 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, Lolo
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 46.783, -114.117

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When: May 19, 5:45 PM MST to 6:30 PM MST
Where: Lincoln County, Central Portion
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 48.417, -115.367

Thunderstorm Wind, Sanders

When: May 19, 5:45 PM MST
Where: Sanders County, Noxon
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.000, -115.783

Thunderstorm Wind, Flathead

When: May 19, 6:00 PM MST to 6:30 PM MST
Where: Flathead County, Kalispell
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 48.200, -114.317

Hail, Flathead

When: May 19, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Flathead County, Pinnacle
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.350, -113.650

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, May 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: 5295558, 5295561, 5295648, 5295560, 5295559.