Name: Wildfire in Montana, August 20 to 31, 2003
Start: 2003-08-20T18:00
End: 2003-08-31T23:59
Location: Montana

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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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: 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 lightning caused wildfire started north of West Yellowstone on the 20th of August. This wildfire was named the Rathbone Fire. 2000 acres burned by the end of August. No structural losses or injuries were reported. Traffic was limited to the day time hours only on Highway 191 near the fire due to the thick smoke.

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 20, 1:05 PM MST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 1:05 PM MST, 4 hours 55 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT2
205 PM MDT WED AUG 20 2003

.DISCUSSION...

TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WITH THE SMOKE
CONTINUING AS UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS BACK INTO THE
AREA. TEMPS WILL 10 TO 15 DEGREES COOLER TONIGHT. HIGHS ON
THURSDAY WILL BE MAINLY IN THE 80S WITH SOME CLIMBING TO
AROUND 90 THURSDAY IN MANY LOW-LYING LOCATIONS AS SOUTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT ADVECTS IN WARMER AIR.

THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AXIS MOVES INTO
EASTERN MONTANA...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS AND BRINGS IN SOME
MID-LEVEL MOISTURE. WITH ONLY WEAK INSTABILITY FORECAST...WILL MAINLY
GO WITH SLIGHT CHANCE POPS...WITH A LITTLE BIT BETTER CHANCE ACROSS
THE SOUTHWEST. TEMPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE WARM AS THERMAL RIDGE MOVES
OVERHEAD.

FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...SURFACE LOW TO MOVE NORTH BRINGING
ANOTHER COLD FRONT WITH GUSTY WINDS AND INCREASE CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

LONG TERM...NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FOR THE EXTENDED TIME FRAME.
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT SUNDAY AHEAD OF APPROACHING UPPER TROF. MAIN
FOCUS OF ENERGY WITH THIS FEATURE WILL STAY OVER SOUTHERN CANADA.
HAVE ADDED SLIGHT POPS TO WEATHER GRID SUNDAY NIGHT FOR NORTHERN
PORTION OF CWA. UPPER RIDGE REBUILDS OVER THE AREA MONDAY AND
REMAINS IN PLACE THROUGH WEDNESDAY FOR DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS.

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF KB 050/088 054/090 058 07000
    BUBUU 086/052 080/045 082/048 086/052 086 02000000000
CTB KB 048/084 051/086 055 07000
    BUBUU 082/050 076/042 078/047 081/052 081 02000300000
HLN KB 053/091 057/093 060 0700-
    BBBUU 087/054 083/050 084/055 085/057 085 23110000000
BZN KB 047/090 050/092 053 07001
    BBBUU 086/052 084/046 084/050 085/053 085 22220000000
WEY KB 038/084 043/086 042 07012
    BBBBB 080/040 080/037 078/040 078/041 078 23220000000
DLN KB 051/088 054/090 054 07001
    BBBBB 083/052 083/049 083/051 084/051 084 24220000000
HVR KU 052/090 053/092 060 07000
    BUBUU 090/053 083/047 082/050 085/057 085 02000300000
LWT KB 050/086 052/088 056 07000
    BBBUU 085/053 080/044 080/046 082/054 082 02110000000

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 5:00 AM MST, 13 hours before

MTZ008>015-044>055-210010-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
600 AM MDT WED AUG 20 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR
CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MONTANA. SEE WWUS85 KTFX/GTFRFWTFX FOR FURTHER
DETAILS.

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON FOR
EASTERN AND SOUTHERN GALLATIN COUNTY AND THE EXTREME EAST PORTION OF
MADISON COUNTY. SEE WWUS85 KTFX/GTFRFWBYZ FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THERE IS A THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH LITTLE OR NO RAIN FRI AND
SAT

THERE IS A THREAT OF GUSTY WINDS FRI NIGHT INTO SUN MAINLY OVER THE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT BUT ALSO POSSIBLY FARTHER EAST AND SOUTH AS
WELL.

.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. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Gallatin

When: August 20, 6:00 PM MST to August 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Gallatin County, 10 mi N of West Yellowstone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.541, -111.170 (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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

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: 5377574.