Montana, 2003

Wildfire and Dust Devil in Montana, August 16, 2003

August 16, 2003 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Cool front passed through western Montana during the afternoon and evening hours with gusty west winds behind the front. A dust devil formed over the Nine Mile fire camp with wind speeds estimated at 40 to 50 mph, which blew over a supply tent.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
3
Property damage
$250,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Cool front passed through western Montana during the afternoon and evening hours with gusty west winds behind the front. A dust devil formed over the Nine Mile fire camp with wind speeds estimated at 40 to 50 mph, which blew over a supply tent. Three men in the camp sustained minor injuries. Northwest sustained winds of 15 to 30 mph, with gusts to 36 mph over the Missoula area, fueled the Black Mountain Fire west of Missoula. The fire spread over 4000 acres during the evening hours forcing evacuations of more than 130 homes. Two homes were completely burned and lost on Cedar Creek Road.

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 Aug 16, 2:00 PM MST, 2 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:00 PM MST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
300 PM MDT SAT AUG 16 2003

.SHORT TERM...LOW HAS MOVED FURTHER EAST INTO EASTERN WASHINGTON
ATTM. THERE IS SOME WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION AND THUNDERSTORMS ON
THE EAST SIDE OF THE CASCADES FROM THE LOW. WEST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH
HAVE DEVELOPED OVER MUCH OF WESTERN MONTANA WITH SOME HIGHER GUSTS TO
30 MPH. CURRENTLY HAVE A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT HAVE DEVELOPED
ALONG THE DEERLODGE NATIONAL FOREST AND ARE MOVING NORTHEAST TOWARD
THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
DEVELOP TONIGHT AS THE LOW CONTINUES TO PUSH TOWARD THE EAST. STILL
UNCERTAIN ON THE WHERE EXACTLY THE LOW WILL GO. AVN TAKES IT OVER THE
DIVIDE AND INTO WESTERN WYOMING BY MON MORNING...THE ETA TAKES IT
FURTHER SOUTH INTO NORTHERN UTAH. EITHER WAY MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES FOR
TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. BELIEVE PRECIPITATION WILL DEVELOP ON THE
NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE LOW TONIGHT AND INTO SUNDAY MORNING...MAINLY IN
SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND ALONG THE DIVIDE. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SHIFT
TOWARD THE NORTHWEST LATE TONIGHT AS THE LOW PASSES. MONDAY A WEAK
RIDGE TRIES TO BUILD INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR WARMER
TEMPERATURES AND PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. KOCH

.LONG TERM...A DRIER WESTERLY FLOW WILL PREVAIL FROM TUESDAY THROUGH
THE END OF THE WEEK.  THE UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD
RETURN...BUT NOT TO THE STRENGTH OBSERVED THIS PAST WEEK.  IN
ADDITION...LATE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH
PRESSURE FLATTENS SOME RESULTING IN A STRONGER WESTERLY FLOW AND A
LITTLE COOLING. THIS MAY BECOME A CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER ISSUE DUE TO
INCREASED AFTERNOON WESTERLY WINDS.  BAUCK

.MSO...RED FLAG WARNING FOR WEST WINDS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS
       THIS EVENING FOR FIRES WEATHER ZONES 102>104, 106>111

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB BUB 054/082 051/086 051/087 36410000
     BBBB 047/086 047/087 045/083 045/083 2900000000
FCA EUB 052/079 049/083 050/082 36410000
     BBBB 045/082 045/082 043/079 043/079 2900000011
POL EUU 058/078 053/082 053/085 36310000
     BBBB 049/085 049/083 047/081 047/082 2900000011
MSO EUU 052/080 050/085 052/086 36311000
     BBBB 050/088 050/086 048/083 048/084 2900000011
HMM EUU 053/080 051/086 053/086 36311000
     BBBB 050/087 050/084 048/084 048/084 2900000011
BTM EBB 046/073 044/080 048/081 36421000
     BBBB 046/080 046/079 044/078 044/079 2900000011
ORO UUU 056/085 055/091 057/090 36200000
     BBBB 057/090 057/089 055/087 055/089 2900000000
GRV BUU 053/081 049/084 052/085 36200000
     BBBB 051/085 051/084 049/082 049/083 2900000011
SMN BUU 051/078 048/083 052/085 36221000
     BBBB 049/086 049/084 047/083 047/082 2900000011
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 16, 5:00 AM MST, 11 hours 14 minutes before
MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-171200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
600 AM MDT SAT AUG 16 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO

.DAY ONE... TODAY

BREEZY WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP TODAY WHICH WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
CREATE HAZARDOUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. PLEASE SEE LATEST RED FLAG
WARNING (GTFRFWMSO) FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.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 wildfire, 1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Missoula

When
August 16, 4:14 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where
Missoula County, 5 mi SW of Missoula
Property damage
$250,000
Reported by
PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates
47.037, -113.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Dust Devil, Missoula

When
August 16, 7:00 PM MST
Where
Missoula County, Nine Mile
Measured
40
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates
47.037, -113.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
Dust Devil
A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5332851, 5332850.