Montana, 2003

Tornado and Hail in Montana, August 6, 2003

August 6, 2003 · NWS GGW · 10 events in 4 counties and zones

5 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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 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 6, 2:15 PM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 2:15 PM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
315 PM MDT WED AUG 6 2003

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THRU FRI...
MODELS INDICATE STRONG SURFACE GRADIENTS WILL KEEP WINDS ABOVE LAKE
WIND CRITERIA THROUGH NIGHT. ONE DISTURBANCE MOVING NE INTO AB. GFS
AND ETA INDICATE ANOTHER DISTURBANCE TO RAPIDLY AND STRONGLY DEVELOP
OVER SW MT THIS EVENING...OTHER MODELS MUCH WEAKER. WATER VAPOR
MOISTENING UP FROM THE SW. FEEL THAT GFS AND ETA DONT SEEM TO HAVE
A GOOD HANDLE ON THESE AND ARE OVERDONE. HOWEVER THE AIRMASS IS
MOIST AND UNSTABLE AND WONT TAKE MUCH TO GENERATE STRONG
CONVECTION. STRONG UPPER HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE REMAINING OVER AREA
THOUGH WHICH WILL DISCOURAGE CONVECTION...BUT NO UPPER SUBSIDENCE
CAPPING INVERSION OF NOTE. ALL AND ALL FEEL THERE WILL BE ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT...BEST CHANCE IN OUR WEST. POSSIBILITY OF
ISOLATED SEVERE OCCURRENCE MOSTLY WEST. SPC HAS WESTERN 2/3 OF AREA
IN SLIGHT RISK.

OVERALL LONGWAVE PATTERN DOESNT CHANGE MUCH WITH UPPER LOW OFF WEST
COAST BEING REINFORCD...AN STRRONG UPPER HIGH OVER SW STATES
STRONGLY RIDGING NORTH AND NOT MOVING. THEREFORE WILL RAISE HIGHS
AND GO WITH A PERSISTENTLY HOT FORECAST. WILL KEEP BROADBRUSH
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY. ALL MOS PERSISTENTLY TOO
CLOUDY...COOL...AND WET FOR THIS PATTERN AND TIME OF YEAR. SIMONSEN

.LONG TERM...FRI NIGHT THRU MON...
SAME AS ABOVE. MORE OF THE SAME AND HAVE RAISED TEMPERATURES WITH
GENERALLY HOT AND DRY WEATHER. SIMONSEN

KGGW BBB 066/096 065/097 063/095 82202220
     BBBB 063/095 062/095 062/091 062/088 8200000000

KGDV BBB 065/099 066/100 065/097 82022220
     BBBB 065/097 064/096 063/091 063/090 8200000000

.GGW...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR FORT PECK LAKE TONIGHT.

SIMONSEN
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 6, 4:14 PM MST, 46 minutes before
MTZ016>027-059>062-072315-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
514 PM MDT WED AUG 6 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA

DAY ONE...

A LAKE WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR FORT PECK LAKE THIS
TONIGHT. REFER TO GTFNPWGGW OR WWUS75 KGGW FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION.

ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHEAST MONTANA
BEGINNING THIS EVENING IN WESTERN SECTIONS...PHILLIPS AND PETROLEUM
COUNTIES...SPREADING TO EASTERN SECTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA LATE
TONIGHT. THE GREATEST THREAT FROM THE STORMS WILL BE STRONG GUSTY
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING THE SLIGHT RISK
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO NORTHEAST MONTANA ON THURSDAY. STRONG
GUSTY WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL REMAIN THE BIGGEST THREAT FROM ANY
SEVERE STORMS THAT DEVELOP IN THE AREA ON THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

SIMONSEN

The radar

The Glasgow radar (KGGW), 158 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Phillips

When
August 6, 5:00 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 4 mi W of Landusky
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.900, -108.700

Hail, Phillips

When
August 6, 5:39 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 8 mi E of Zortman
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
47.917, -108.367

Hail, Phillips

When
August 6, 6:50 PM MST
Where
Phillips County, 50 mi S of Malta
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.633, -107.867

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
August 6, 7:30 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 22 mi NW of Brusett
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.583, -107.583

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
August 6, 7:37 PM MST
Where
Valley County, 46 mi SW of Glasgow
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.733, -107.333

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
August 6, 9:02 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, (Jdn)jordan
Measured
67 kt (77 mph) measured gust
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
47.183, -106.533

Thunderstorm Wind, Valley

When
August 6, 9:31 PM MST
Where
Valley County, Glasgow
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
48.200, -106.633

Thunderstorm Wind, Garfield

When
August 6, 9:39 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 13 mi E of Jordan
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.317, -106.600

Tornado, Garfield

When
August 6, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Garfield County, 8 mi E of Jordan
Rating
F0
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
47.317, -106.717

Garfield County Fire Marshall reported a tornado 8 miles east of Jordan on Haxby Road.

Hail, Dawson

When
August 6, 11:15 PM MST
Where
Dawson County, 2 mi NW of Glendive
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
47.117, -104.767

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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 historyThe tornado archive for Montana, 2003Warnings 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: 5374797, 5374798, 5374799, 5374800, 5374801, 5374802, 5374803, 5374804, 5374805, 5374806.