Damaging Wind in Montana, April 12, 2003

Name: Damaging Wind in Montana, April 12, 2003
Start: 2003-04-12T21:44
End: 2003-04-12T21:44
Location: Montana

April 12, 2003 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm produced a 60 mph wind gust in Havre.

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
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 TFX wrote it up.

A severe thunderstorm produced a 60 mph wind gust in Havre.

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 7:50 PM MST, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 7:50 PM MST, 1 hour 54 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
850 PM MDT SAT APR 12 2003

.SHORT TERM...WILL UPDATE THIS EVENING. BUSY NIGHT AS FIRST
CONVECTIVE STORMS OF THE SEASON DEVELOPED OVER GREAT FALLS AND ARE
NOW MOVING INTO CHOUTEAU COUNTY. WILL ADJUST WORDING IN THE ZONES.
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES SUNDAY WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON A GOOD POSSIBILITY. EMANUEL

.EXTENDED...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL
CONTINUE THROUGH THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE EXTENDED. AS A WEAK
SURFACE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE CWA ON WEDNESDAY...AND
PLENTY OF COLD AIR ALOFT...EXPECT A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS. ON
THURSDAY...THE FLOW ALOFT STARTS TO SPLIT AROUND MONTANA. WITH A
STRONG LOW GOING TO OUR SOUTH...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR
SHOWERS OVER FAR SOUTHWEST MONTANA...BUT AREAS FURTHER NORTH SHOULD
BE MOSTLY DRY. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE COOL WEDNESDAY AND
THURSDAY...WITH A CHANCE FOR SNOW AT NIGHT...ESPECIALLY IN THE
MOUNTAINS. FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...EXPECT A WEAK WESTERLY FLOW TO
SET UP ALOFT...AS A POSITIVELY TILTED RIDGE STARTS TO DEVELOP OVER
CENTRAL MONTANA. THIS WILL ALLOW THE AIR MASS TO DRY OUT...AND FOR
A NEW WARMING TREND TO BEGIN. BRUSDA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF EE 040/064 037/058 037 14444
    EEBBU 052/029 050/031 055/032 056/034 060 43323300000
CTB EE 038/057 033/051 034 14636
    EEBBU 049/026 049/028 054/029 055/031 057 43323300000
HLN TE 042/062 037/059 035 14455
    EEBBU 053/027 050/029 054/030 056/032 058 333233-0000
BZN EE 037/064 034/057 034 14244
    EEEBU 050/026 050/028 051/029 056/031 059 23323330000
WEY TE 024/052 025/049 027 14263
    EEEBU 044/019 043/021 044/022 049/024 051 33433330000
DLN TE 039/057 035/056 032 14365
    EEEBU 049/024 050/026 051/027 056/029 057 23323330000
HVR EE 044/068 039/059 036 14432
    EEBBU 053/028 048/030 055/031 055/033 062 33323300000
LWT BE 040/066 037/058 034 14233
    EEBBU 050/027 047/029 054/030 054/032 058 33323300000

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 12, 5:10 AM MST, 16 hours 34 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-130010-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
610 AM MDT SAT APR 12 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

NO WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES CURRENTLY IN EFFECT

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 12, 9:26 PM MST, 18 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1026 PM MDT SAT APR 12 2003

TIME(MDT)  .....EVENT  LOCATION..... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...........
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

0815 PM    GREAT FALLS               MT   1.25 INCH HAIL
04/13/03   CASCADE                        REPORTED BY MALMSTROM
                                          AIR FORCE BASE

0855 PM    5 W CARTER                MT   1 INCH HAIL
04/13/03   CHOUTEAU                       REPORTED BY WEATHER SPOTTER

NNNN

The radar

The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 175 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hill

When: April 12, 9:44 PM MST
Where: Hill County, Havre
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.550, -109.683

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, April 2003

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: 5348118.