Lightning Strike in Montana, August 13, 2003

Name: Lightning Strike in Montana, August 13, 2003
Start: 2003-08-13T16:30
End: 2003-08-13T16:30
Location: Montana

August 13, 2003 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A youth group of kids and a few adults were rafting down the Missouri River during the late afternoon hours on the 13th. A fast moving thunderstorm approached and a lightning bolt struck the raft.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
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 youth group of kids and a few adults were rafting down the Missouri River during the late afternoon hours on the 13th. A fast moving thunderstorm approached and a lightning bolt struck the raft. Most of the people in the raft fell into the water. Four children suffered minor burns. One adult was struck directly by the lightning bolt and needed CPR to be resuscitated. Serious bruising and trauma also resulted.

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 Aug 13, 1:40 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 1:40 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
240 PM MDT WED AUG 13 2003

.DISCUSSION...

TONIGHT...SATELLITE INDICATES ISOLATED CONVECTION OVER SOUTHWEST
AND CENTRAL ZONES. WILL ISSUE A RED FLAG WARNING FOR ALL FIRE
WEATHER ZONES EXCEPT 112 FOR HIGH FIRE DANGER WITH DRY
THUNDERSTORMS. ALTHOUGH SOME STORMS MAY CONTAIN PRECIPITATION...
CONDITIONS ARE VERY DRY AND LIGHTNING WILL PROBABLY CAUSE SOME
FIRES. MODELS CONTINUE TO SLOW DOWN THE MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER TROUGH
ALONG THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST. MOIST AND UNSTABLE SOUTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT CONTINUES OVER CWA TONIGHT. HAVE OPTED TO GO WITH THE SLOWER
GFS VERSION. A WEAK DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE SOUTHWEST MONTANA LATE
THIS AFTERNOON AND PROGRESS NORTHEAST ACROSS THE PLAINS THROUGH THE
NIGHT FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM CONDITIONS.

THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...DO NOT SEE MUCH RELIEVE FROM THE HEAT AS
THE UPPER RIDGE WILL CONTINUE OVER THE STATE FOR NEAR RECORD
HIGH TEMPERATURES. WILL GO HIGHER THAN GUIDANCE BUT NOT AS HIGH AS
PREVIOUS PACKAGE. WILL CONTINUE SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION AS
EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES WILL CONTINUE IN THE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT.
FIRE WEATHER WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. CAMP

ON SATURDAY...EXPECT AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO MOVE EAST ALONG
THE US AND CANADIAN BORDER DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING
HOURS. HOWEVER...AT THIS TIME LITTLE IF ANY PRECIP IS EXPECTED...BUT
A SUSTAINED WEST WIND OF 30 MPH IS POSSIBLE AS THIS DISTURBANCE
MOVES THROUGH...MAINLY OVER NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. THIS WILL HAVE TO
BE WATCHED CLOSELY DUE TO THE CURRENT FIRE DANGER.

FOR SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...EXPECT AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE TO REBUILD OVER THE REGION. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR THE VERY
WARM AIR TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. BRUSDA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 059/098 062/097 059 07212
    UUUUU 093/059 093/058 091/055 093/056 091 22000000000
CTB BB 055/092 058/093 057 07212
    UUUUU 088/057 088/055 085/050 087/053 089 22000000000
HLN BB 059/097 062/099 060 07222
    UUUUU 095/060 095/060 094/056 096/058 092 22000000000
BZN BB 052/098 055/096 059 07222
    UUUUU 093/059 093/055 093/055 095/055 091 22000000000
WEY BB 046/091 052/089 050 07222
    UUUUU 092/051 092/044 089/044 091/042 087 22000000000
DLN BB 059/097 060/095 056 07222
    UUUUU 094/056 094/050 093/050 095/052 093 22000000000
HVR BB 063/098 066/100 060 07202
    UUUUU 094/060 094/063 091/056 093/061 094 22000000000
LWT BB 061/097 064/098 060 07212
    UUUUU 094/058 094/060 093/057 095/058 087 22000000000

.TFX...RED FLAG WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR FIRE ZONES
       113...114...115...116...117 AND 118

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 13, 5:15 AM MST, 11 hours 15 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-140010-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
615 AM MDT WED AUG 13 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...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

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.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Lewis and Clark

When: August 13, 4:30 PM MST
Where: Lewis and Clark County, Craig
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 47.122, -112.390 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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, August 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: 5377663.