Dust Devil in Montana, July 2, 2003

Name: Dust Devil in Montana, July 2, 2003
Start: 2003-07-02T16:00
End: 2003-07-02T16:00
Location: Montana

July 2, 2003 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Several dust devils formed in Missoula during the late afternoon hours, knocking down road signs and causing local damage at an auto shop. The auto shop had cylinder blocks blown off the building.

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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Floods
Wind
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Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $40,000
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 MSO wrote it up.

Several dust devils formed in Missoula during the late afternoon hours, knocking down road signs and causing local damage at an auto shop. The auto shop had cylinder blocks blown off the building. Portions of the building were torn off and landed on a parked vehicle and two jet skis. The vehicle and jet skis were totaled.

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 Jul 2, 1:15 PM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 1:15 PM MST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
215 PM MDT WED JUL 2 2003

.SHORT TERM...THE SHORT-WAVE TROUGH MOVING THROUGH SE B.C. PROVIDING
JUST ENOUGH DYNAMICS FOR A FEW CELLS OVER GLACIER NP THIS AFTERNOON.
THIS ACTIVITY WILL BE SHORT-LIVED AND EXCLUDED FROM THE AFTERNOON
PACKAGE. FARTHER SOUTH CONVECTION JUST BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ACROSS
NORTH-CENTRAL IDAHO AND SW MONTANA AND WILL LIKELY BE THE MAIN
CONCERN IN THE SHORT-TERM PERIOD. LOW RHS AND INCREASING WINDS IN THE
VICINITY OF THE SURFACE TROUGH CAUSE FOR CONCERN WITH RESPECT TO FIRE
CONTROL ISSUES. A WEAK WAVE OF ENERGY OVER NE OREGON WILL MOVE INTO
THE AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THIS FEATURE SHOULD INITIATE BETTER
CONVECTION AS IT MOVES OVER THE AREA OF LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND
BETTER INSTABILITY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ZONES...ADDING THE FINAL
INGREDIENT FOR FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS. THE JET STREAM ALOFT MAY ALSO
BE A PLAYER ADDING LIFT AND POTENTIAL SOURCE OF HIGHER VELOCITY WINDS
PULLED DOWN WITH CONVECTIVE DOWNDRAFTS. THE FIRE WEATHER WARNING WILL
REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 110 111 THIS EVENING.

THU...LITTLE CHANCE EXPECTED IN TEMPS WINDS AS THE UPPER FLOW
CONVERGES OVER THE AREA FROM THE NW AND SW. CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL
LESSENS ACROSS THE SOUTH AS THE BETTER DYNAMICS AND INSTABILITY
SHIFTS EAST. WESTERLY SURFACE WINDS WILL INCREASE DURING THE
AFTERNOON THANKS TO INCREASED MIXING.

FRI...A DRY WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT EXPECTED FOR 4TH OF JULY. THE AIR
MASS WILL WARM A BIT (PER MODELS) AND WILL BUMP TEMPS UP A BIT.

SAT...ANOTHER SHORT-WAVE TROUGH WILL SWINGING THROUGH SOUTHERN B.C.
IMPACTING THE ZONES NEAR THE BORDER. BELIEVE BEST POTENTIAL FOR
PRECIP WILL REMAIN IN CANADA BUT WILL MENTION SLIGHT CHANCE POPS
ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. AS THE JET STREAM SAGS ACROSS THE CANADIAN
BORDER...EXPECT WESTERLY WINDS TO INCREASE BY AFTERNOON. MSJ

.LONG TERM...DRY WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW SETS UP FOR SUNDAY AND MOST
OF MONDAY WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S TO MID 80S. GFS SHOWING
THERMAL RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH A TROUGH DIGGING
ALONG THE EASTERN PACIFIC BY LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. THIS TROUGH
WILL PRODUCE A SOUTHWEST FLOW INTO THE AREA AND BRING ENOUGH MOISTURE
WITH IT TO PRODUCE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS. TEMPERATURES WILL WARM ACROSS THE REGION TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY. RPN

.MSO...RED FLAG WARNING FIRE WEATHER ZONES 110 111 UNTIL 8PM THIS
       EVENING.

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB UUB 044/081 044/083 045/082 35000000
     BBUU 047/080 047/083 048/085 048/084 4000001111
FCA BBB 042/076 043/078 044/077 35000000
     BBUU 047/077 047/078 048/082 047/081 4000000111
POL BBB 049/077 049/080 050/079 35000000
     BBBU 048/078 049/079 050/083 048/082 4000000111
MSO UUB 045/080 046/082 046/081 35000000
     BBBU 046/080 049/082 050/083 050/082 4000000221
HMM UUB 046/082 047/084 047/083 35200000
     BBUU 045/082 048/082 049/082 050/081 4000000221
BTM BUB 043/078 043/080 043/079 35211000
     UBBB 042/078 044/078 045/082 046/081 4000000111
ORO UUU 050/083 057/088 057/087 35000000
     UBUU 050/082 054/085 057/087 058/086 4000001111
GRV UUB 051/079 050/081 050/080 35000000
     UBBU 047/079 050/081 052/080 050/079 4000001111
SMN UUU 047/083 045/084 045/083 35211000
     UBBB 047/082 050/082 051/086 049/085 4000001221

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 2, 7:50 AM MST, 8 hours 10 minutes before

MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-031200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
850 AM MDT WED JUL 2 2003

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

A COMBINATION OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES...GUSTY WINDS AND ISOLATED
DRY THUNDERSTORMS WILL RESULT IN HAZARDOUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
MONTANA. THESE CONDITIONS HAVE PROMPTED THE ISSUANCE OF A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR THE BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF GRANITE
AND POWELL COUNTIES. PLEASE REFER TO GTFRFWMSO FOR DETAILS. DRY
GUSTY CONDITIONS WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO EXISTS IN
LEMHI COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

.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

1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.

Dust Devil, Missoula

When: July 2, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, Missoula
Measured: 52
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 47.037, -113.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

Every storm in Montana in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, July 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: 5353903.