Wildfire in Montana, August 23 to 24, 2003

Name: Wildfire in Montana, August 23 to 24, 2003
Start: 2003-08-23T00:01
End: 2003-08-24T23:59
Location: Montana

August 23 to 24, 2003 · NWS GGW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wildfire believed to have been started by a combine striking a rock during dry conditions burned approximately 7000 acres.

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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Wind
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Heat and drought
Cold
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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 GGW wrote it up.

A wildfire believed to have been started by a combine striking a rock during dry conditions burned approximately 7000 acres.

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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 22, 8:30 PM MST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 8:30 PM MST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
930 PM MDT FRI AUG 22 2003

.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY
UPPER RIDGE HAS BUILT OVER THE AREA AS EXPECTED...HOWEVER COPIOUS
MID AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE STREAMING RIGHT THRU THE AXIS INTO THE
AREA. SHOWERS CURRENTLY TRUNDLING OUT OF THE CWA IN THE NORTHEAST
WITH MORE MOVING NORTH-NORTHEAST ACROSS PETROLEUM AND PHILLIPS
COUNTIES. LEE TROF MAKING ITS WAY TOWARD EASTERN MONTANA WITH
PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENING ALONG THE BORDER IN ADVANCE. NOT A LOT
OF FORCING SEEN FOR TODAY...BUT WITH MOISTURE IN PLACE AND AN
EXPECTED UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH DECENT CAPE...WILL NOT TAKE MUCH
TO KICK SOMETHING OFF. WILL THUS LEAVE THE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR
TODAY. WILL UPDATE TO LOWER SOME MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES DUE TO CLOUD
COVER...AND MASSAGE WIND DIRECTION FROM SOUTHEAST TO A BIT MORE
TOWARD EAST.  VALONE

WITH THE INSTABILITY IN PLACE AND SURFACE TROUGH AND COLD FRONT
PASSING THROUGH TONIGHT...WILL GIVE ALL ZONES A CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS. EXPECT SOME DRY THUNDERSTORMS AND GUSTY WINDS WITH
THE FRONT TONIGHT. WILL MAINTAIN GOING FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR
TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. EXPECT GUSTY WEST WINDS AND LOW RH BEHIND THE
FRONT ON SATURDAY.

ETA AND GFS HAVE SOME DIFFERENENCES IN BRINGING WEAK SHORTWAVES
ACROSS MONTANA SATURDAY...SAT NIGHT AND SUNDAY. WILL MAINTAIN A DRY
FORECAST FOR NOW. FORRESTER

.LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...
INHERITED FORECAST LOOKS TO BE IN GREAT SHAPE AND NO MAJOR CHANGES
ARE PLANNED. UPPER TROUGH TO SWING ACROSS NORTHERN MONTANA SUNDAY
NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. THE TROUGH IS ONE THE STRONGEST WE HAVE
SEEN IN QUITE SOME TIME AND COULD TOUCH OFF A ROUND OF CONVECTION
AND GUSTY WINDS. MODELS CONTINUE TO OFFER UP DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS AS
TO THE INTENSITY AND SPEED OF THE TROUGH. PLAN ON LEANING WITH THE
GFS WHICH HAS BEEN REMARKABLY CONSISTENT DURING THE LAST FEW
RUNS...AND OTHER MODELS INCLUDING THE EXTENDED ETA APPEAR TO BE
COMING INTO SLIGHTLY BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THE GFS. BEHIND THE FRONT
A W/NW FLOW IS EXPECTED TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. FOR A
CHANGE...TEMPERATURES WILL AVERAGE A BIT BELOW NORMAL WITH MAXIMA
MOSTLY IN THE 70S. WILL LOWER TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES MONDAY INTO
TUESDAY...BUT NOT QUITE AS COOL AS GFS WHICH IS ADVERTISING
TEMPERATURES NEARLY 10 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE. MONSOONAL FLOW REMAINS
AT BAY THURSDAY WITH ZONAL FLOW AND WEAK RIDGING ACROSS THE STATE
WHICH SHOULD KEEP US DRY WITH SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES. CB

KGGW EBB /093 061/091 058/086 7923000
     TBBB 054/078 048/078 051/082 055/083 055/ 92330000000
KGDV BBB /092 063/093 058/089 7923000
     TBBB 053/081 047/080 051/085 056/086 056/ 92330000000

.GGW...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FIRE ZONES 119 THRU 122 TONIGHT AND
SATURDAY.

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 22, 5:30 PM MST, 6 hours 31 minutes before

MTZ016>027-059>062-211200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...AMMENDED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
630 PM MDT THU AUG 22 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA.

.DAY ONE...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR
FIRE WEATHER ZONES 119 THROUGH 122 FOR A COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE WITH A
WIND SHIFT FOLLOWED BY STRONG AND GUSTY WIND...LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES...AND VERY HIGH FIRE DANGER. FOR MOR INFORMATION SEE
GTFRFWGGW OR WWUS85 KGGW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

TFJ

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, Roosevelt

When: August 23, 12:01 AM MST to August 24, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Roosevelt County, 15 mi N of Wolf Pt
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (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

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: 5375203.