A strong low pressure system and jet stream created high winds across the southern Bitterroot Mountains with a peak gust to 52 mph reported at Teepee Point RAWS station.
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The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
A strong low pressure system and jet stream created high winds across the southern Bitterroot Mountains with a peak gust to 52 mph reported at Teepee Point RAWS station.
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 20, 8:25 AM MST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
925 AM MDT MON MAY 20 2002
.SHORT TERM...NO UPDATES TO ZFP OR SFP. UPPER LOW OFF THE CALIFORNIA
COAST IS EVER SO SLOWLY MOVING ONSHORE THIS MORNING. DECENT OMEGA
BLOCK PATTERN OVER ENTIRE CONUS AT THIS TIME...WHICH MAY SLOW THINGS
DOWN A TAD. HOWEVER...DO HAVE A GOOD JET ROUNDING THE UPPER LOW OFF
THE COAST WHICH SHOULD HELP PROGRESS THINGS OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST TODAY. THERMAL TROF HAS BEGUN TO RETREAT TO THE EAST...AS
WINDS HAVE TURNED NORTHWEST IN MISSOULA THIS MORNING. MID LEVEL
SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL KEEP THINGS UNSTABLE TODAY ALLOWING FOR ONE MORE
DAY OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER MONTANA. WITH FALLING HEIGHTS...MAY SEE
THUNDERSTORMS A BIT EARLIER THAN THE LAST TWO DAYS. CURRENT ZONES
HAVE AFTERNOON TIMING AND THIS SEEMS REASONABLE.
ON ANOTHER NOTE...RIVER LEVELS ARE RISING IN THE ST. REGIS AREA.
WITH UPPER TROF AFFECTING THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY...BRINGING
DECENT RAIN...WILL ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH. WILL ALSO PUT OUT A RIVER
STATEMENT FOR DECENT RISES OVER THE WEEKEND FROM VERY WARM
TEMPERATURES AND EXPECTED PRECIPITATION THIS WEEK. MEAD
.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS FORECAST LOOKS GOOD...AND WILL ADJUST ONLY
SLIGHTLY. AREA STILL UNDER CYCLONIC NORTHWEST FLOW IN THE WAKE OF
THE EXITING UPPER TROUGH THURSDAY. NOT MUCH MOISTURE AVAILABLE IN
OUR WESTERN ZONES...AND WILL LESSON PRECIP CHANCES A BIT. BRIEF
RIDGING IS EXPECTED FRIDAY FOR DRIER WEATHER. WITH LESS CLOUD
COVER AND PLENTY OF INSOLATION THIS TIME OF YEAR...WILL SHOW A
LITTLE MORE WARMING FRIDAY THAN ON PREVIOUS FORECAST. WESTERLY FLOW
WITH EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES MOVES OVER THE CWA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...
SO WILL MAINTAIN SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS WITH TEMPS APPROACHING
NORMAL. WHITMORE
.MSO...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ST. REGIS RIVER AT ST. REGIS THROUGH
TUESDAY.
...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EWE /078 045/060 042/057 3736534
EBEB 040/061 040/066 042/067 042/069 044/ 34210011110
FCA EWE /079 047/061 042/052 3735644
EBEB 038/058 038/065 039/066 039/068 041/ 34210011110
POL EWE /076 049/060 045/055 3735644
EBEB 042/057 042/064 044/066 044/068 046/ 34210011110
MSO EWE /080 048/061 042/055 3735643
EBEB 039/058 038/066 040/067 042/068 044/ 34210011110
HMM EWE /081 048/062 042/056 3735643
EBEB 040/060 039/067 041/068 043/070 045/ 34210011110
BTM BWE /078 042/055 036/049 3725653
EBEB 032/053 033/061 035/062 038/064 040/ 34310011110
ORO WWE /071 050/064 046/062 3766432
EBEB 045/067 047/070 048/071 050/073 052/ 34210011110
GRV WWE /068 046/060 041/057 3766432
EBEB 040/064 042/066 043/068 045/070 047/ 34210011110
SMN BWE /081 046/060 040/058 3725643
EBBB 037/060 039/066 040/067 042/069 044/ 34210011110The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, May 2002
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: 5295556.