Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, June 10, 2003

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, June 10, 2003
Start: 2003-06-10T14:35
End: 2003-06-10T14:57
Location: Montana

June 10, 2003 · NWS MSO · 3 events in 1 county or zone

Strong thunderstorm moved through Lake County between 230 PM and 300 PM MST, producing damaging winds and large hail. Near Arlee, a semi truck north bound on highway 93, was blown off the highway.

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: 3

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.

Strong thunderstorm moved through Lake County between 230 PM and 300 PM MST, producing damaging winds and large hail. Near Arlee, a semi truck north bound on highway 93, was blown off the highway. As the storm passed through Pablo, power lines and trees were knocked down. Near Ronan, nickel size hail damaged a home owner's yard.

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 Jun 10, 1:30 PM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 10, 1:30 PM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
230 PM MDT TUE JUN 10 2003

UPDATED TO ADD SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH

.SHORT TERM...THINGS CONTINUE TO BE SHAPING UP FOR A CONVECTIVE...
AND POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
WATCHING WATER VAPOR IT APPEARS AS THOUGH THE LOW IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
IS DIGGING FURTHER SOUTH THAN PREVIOUS MODELS WERE INDICATING. LATEST
AVN PICKS UP ON THIS IDEA AND DOES NOT BRING THE VORT MAX OVER UNTIL
06Z. CURRENTLY WE ARE GETTING SOME GOOD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS WE GET SOME GOOD FORCING AHEAD OF THE
LOW. ALSO THERE IS DECENT 850MB CONVERGENCE AND CAPE OF OVER 1000
J/KG BETWEEN 21 AND 03Z. ETA BUFR SOUNDINGS ARE INDICATING STRONG
WINDS WHICH COULD MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE. DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL
ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. AS THE LOW AND ASSOCIATED
ENERGY MOVES EAST THROUGH THE EVENING...SO WILL THE THUNDERSTORMS.
THUS HAVE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH 9Z IN WESTERN MONTANA...AND BY 12Z
JUST ALONG THE DIVIDE. SPC WILL BE PUTTING OUT A WATCH BOX FOR NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO AND ALL OF WESTERN MONTANA THROUGH 9PM MDT.
KOCH

.WED THROUGH SUN...HIGH PRESSURE RAPIDLY BUILDS OVER THE REGION
WEDNESDAY.  A SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW RETURNS THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND
WITH WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW.  THIS FLOW
PATTERN IS LIKELY TO PRODUCE SOME INSTABILITY...BUT RELATIVELY
LITTLE SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE. BAUCK

.MSO...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 09 PM FOR MTZ001>007-043 AND
       IDZ005>008...

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB BBE 050/071 048/079 049/075 36521123
     EEEE 049/073 046/076 046/071 049/071 2932223333
FCA BBE 046/068 041/074 046/074 36521123
     BBEE 046/071 044/071 044/070 047/070 2932223333
POL BBE 049/069 043/077 049/075 36521122
     BBEE 049/072 046/074 046/070 049/070 2922223333
MSO BBE 047/069 044/079 048/076 36611122
     BBEE 048/075 047/075 047/073 050/073 2922223333
HMM BBE 049/071 043/080 050/076 36600122
     BBEE 050/075 046/075 046/071 049/071 2922223333
BTM BBE 042/069 038/075 043/075 36600112
     BBEE 043/072 043/072 043/069 046/069 2922333333
ORO BBE 052/075 052/082 054/080 36100122
     BBEE 054/077 052/078 052/075 055/075 2922222222
GRV BBE 047/072 044/076 048/075 36200112
     BBEE 048/072 045/074 045/070 048/070 2922223332
SMN BBB 045/074 041/080 048/077 36200111
     BBEB 048/076 047/075 047/072 050/072 2912223332

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 10, 1:40 PM MST, 55 minutes before

MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-111200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
240 PM MDT TUE JUN 10 2003

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

UNSTABLE CONDITIONS OVER THE REGION WITH AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL
SYSTEM WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE AREA THE
REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO HAVE STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH AND HAIL
ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. THEREFORE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN
ISSUED THROUGH 9 PM THIS EVENING FOR ALL OF WESTERN MONTANA COUNTIES
AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO COUNTIES EXCEPT LEMHI COUNTY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.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

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: June 10, 2:35 PM MST
Where: Lake County, 5 mi NW of Arlee
Measured: 63 kt (72 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.200, -114.167

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: June 10, 2:38 PM MST
Where: Lake County, Pablo
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.600, -114.117

Hail, Lake

When: June 10, 2:57 PM MST
Where: Lake County, 1 mi S of Ronan
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.517, -114.100

What these are

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.
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, June 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: 5362734, 5362735, 5362736.