Hail in Montana, August 6, 2003

Name: Hail in Montana, August 6, 2003
Start: 2003-08-06T14:55
End: 2003-08-06T15:30
Location: Montana

August 6, 2003 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms moved through Ravalli and Powell Counties during the late afternoon hours. Three quarter to one inch hail was reported near Sula, and one inch hail was reported near Ovando and Helmville.

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
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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.

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 6, 1:45 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 1:45 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
245 PM MDT WED AUG 6 2003

UPDATED TO ADD WATCH BELOW

.SHORT TERM...CUMULUS BEGINNING TO FIRE IN LEMHI COUNTY IDAHO...AS
EVIDENT ON VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY. THIS CUMULUS IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE TO GROW AND DEVELOP INTO FULL BLOWN THUNDERSTORMS...A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS ANTICIPATED SHORTLY. IN ADDITION...
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL FROM THESE STORMS MAY LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLASH
FLOODING AND MUDSLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN DRAINAGES IN STEEP TERRAIN.
THE MAIN FOCUS ON THIS WILL BE IN THE GENERATION AREA OF THESE
STORMS. THIS WOULD BE THE CLEARWATER/BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS AND IN
LEMHI COUNTY IDAHO. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL BE ISSUED FOR THESE
AREAS. SOUTHWEST FLOW HAS BROUGHT GOOD INSTABILITY ACROSS THE
NORTHERN ROCKIES. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH OF ENERGY IS CURRENTLY ENTERING
CENTRAL IDAHO AND IS SERVING AS THE TRIGGER FOR THE CONVECTION. THESE
STORMS WILL TRACK NORTHEAST ACROSS CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN
MONTANA...AND FOR THE MOST PART BE EAST OF THE DIVIDE BY MIDNIGHT.
LINGERING INSTABILITY WILL LIKELY KEEP SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS GOING THROUGH THE NIGHT OVER NORTHWEST MONTANA.
THURSDAY THE SOUTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES WITH SOME A DECENT PIECE OF
ENERGY SPINNING OVER WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO.
MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE MORE LIMITED WITH THIS SYSTEM WHEN COMPARED WITH
PREVIOUS DAYS. ONCE AGAIN INSTABILITY LOOKS TO LINGER OVER NORTHWEST
MONTANA ALLOWING ISOLATED SHOWERS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT.
FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES WITH THE BEST
CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION LOOKING TO BE IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA AS THE
LEFT EXIT REGION OF A 70KT JET NOSES INTO THE AREA. SATURDAY THE JET
MOVES NORTHWARD INCREASING SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN
MONTANA AND CENTRAL IDAHO. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO WARM THROUGH THE
PERIOD AS WARMER AIR SLOWLY BUILDS INTO THE AREA. GILCHRIST

.LONG TERM...A FEW CHANGES IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST FOR SATURDAY
NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. EURO AND GFS ARE BRINGING COOLER CONDITIONS
INTO WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...HOWEVER THERE ARE SOME
TIMING DIFFERENCES. THE EURO MODEL IS MUCH QUICKER WITH THE UPPER LOW
AND COOLER TEMPERATURES...SETTLING THEM IN TUESDAY MORNING. WILL SHOW
THE COOLER AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ARRIVING BY WEDNESDAY...WHICH WOULD
BE A COMPROMISE. CLIMATOLOGICALLY SPEAKING...WE HAVE 7 OUT OF 10
AUGUSTS THAT HAVE AN UPPER LOW PASSAGE. THEREFORE THE MODEL SOLUTIONS
TRENDING THIS DIRECTION ARE NOT NECESSARILY OFF. NEVERTHELESS...
COOLER AIR DOES LOOK TO CREEP INTO THE REGION OVER THE EXTENDED.
PATTERN WILL PROVIDE FOR CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...THEN
SHIFT INTO A MORE DOMINANT SHOWERY REGIME WITH ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS. DICKSON

.MSO...RED FLAG WARNING FOR WESTERN MONTANA ALONG THE DIVIDE THROUGH
       THIS EVENING. (FIRE WEATHER ZONES 110-111-109-108-105.)
    ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR IDAHO AND LEMHI COUNTIES IN IDAHO AND
       RAVALLI COUNTY IN MONTANA THROUGH 10 PM MDT...
    ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR ALL OF WESTERN MONTANA AND
       NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO THROUGH 9 PM MDT...

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB BBB 052/087 052/089 052/090 33222112
     BBBE 055/087 055/084 053/083 053/083 3722222233
FCA BBB 050/086 049/087 050/088 33322112
     BBBE 052/085 052/082 050/081 050/081 3722222333
POL BBB 055/087 054/088 055/089 33322222
     BBBE 055/086 055/083 053/082 053/082 3722222333
MSO BBB 052/088 051/090 051/090 33422111
     BBBB 054/087 054/084 052/083 052/083 3713333333
HMM BBB 051/089 052/091 052/091 33411111
     BBBB 055/088 055/085 053/084 053/084 3713333333
BTM BBB 047/086 046/088 046/089 33422222
     BBBB 049/086 049/083 047/082 047/082 3722222332
ORO BBB 061/092 061/094 060/092 33322112
     BBBE 060/089 060/086 058/085 058/085 3722211233
GRV BBB 057/086 055/088 054/087 33322112
     BBBB 054/084 054/081 052/080 052/080 3722222333
SMN BBB 051/087 049/090 050/091 33311221
     BBBB 054/088 054/085 052/084 052/084 3712222222

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 6, 9:02 AM MST, 5 hours 53 minutes before

MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-071200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
600 AM MDT WED AUG 6 2003

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL IDAHO
AND WEST-CENTRAL MONTANA TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE ATMOSPHERE
REMAINS UNSTABLE TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH SOME
POTENTIALLY GUSTY WINDS...HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Powell

When: August 6, 2:55 PM MST
Where: Powell County, 5 mi S of Ovando
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.950, -113.133

Hail, Ravalli

When: August 6, 3:12 PM MST to 3:30 PM MST
Where: Ravalli County, 3 mi NE of Sula
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.867, -113.917

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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: 5332922, 5332921.