High Wind in Montana, May 16, 2003

Name: High Wind in Montana, May 16, 2003
Start: 2003-05-16T01:00
End: 2003-05-16T01:00
Location: Montana

May 16, 2003 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wind gust of 60 mph occurred at Inverness.

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 TFX wrote it up.

A wind gust of 60 mph occurred at Inverness.

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 7:45 PM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 7:45 PM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
845 PM MDT THU MAY 15 2003

.SHORT TERM...UPDATE TO ZONES PLANNED BY 930...STRONG SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE W OF CONTDVD WILL KEEP STRONG WEST WINDS THRU FRIDAY.
SATELLITE INDICATES THE SOUTHWEST FREE OF PRECIP EXCEPT FOR A SINGLE
STORM IN MEAGHER COUNTY. MOST SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE ACROSS
THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN ZONES...AND WATER VAPOR SHOW DRIER
CONDITIONS TO THE WEST.  SEVERAL WEAK DISTURBANCES WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE THRU THE FLOW AND NEW SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN ZONES ARE STILL
POSSIBLE ALTHOUGH NO SIGNIFICANT PRECIP IS EXPECTED AFTER MIDNIGHT.
ZELZER

.EXTENDED...UPPER TROUGH SKIPS PAST THE AREA MONDAY. THE RESULTING
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CAUSE A DRYING TREND AND WILL ALLOW TEMPS TO
RECOVER TO NEAR AVERAGE BY WEDNESDAY. CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE THAT
WILL RIDE THE NORTHWEST FLOW INTO THE CWA WILL KEEP WINDS LIGHT
THROUGH THE PERIOD. POMEROY

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BE 038/057 031/054 034 99200
    EEBBB 048/032 056/032 061/036 065/039 067 00332200000
CTB NE 035/051 029/051 034 99100
    EEBBB 046/032 054/032 059/036 063/039 063 00332200000
HLN BE 040/060 034/055 035 99220
    EBBBB 052/033 059/035 064/037 067/040 069 02332200000
BZN BE 041/060 029/054 032 99222
    EBBBB 051/030 057/031 060/033 064/037 066 22332200000
WEY BE 030/047 026/046 028 99222
    EEBBB 043/029 047/032 056/036 059/038 059 22443300000
DLN BE 037/057 028/051 030 99222
    EBBBB 046/030 054/032 060/034 063/038 064 22332200000
HVR BE 038/059 032/056 037 99700
    EEBBB 048/035 058/035 063/039 068/041 070 00332200000
LWT BE 039/057 029/053 034 99500
    EEBBB 049/032 051/033 056/036 061/039 061 0-332200000

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 15, 5:15 AM MST, 19 hours 45 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-160010-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
615 AM MDT THU MAY 15 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS
AFTERNOON...AHEAD OF A PACIFIC COLD FRONT. SOME OF THESE STORMS
COULD BE SEVERE. AREAS EAST OF A LINE FROM HAVRE...TO GREAT
FALLS...TO HELENA...AND THEN TO BOZEMAN...WILL HAVE THE HIGHEST
POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER. THE BEST CHANCES FOR SEVERE STORMS TO
OCCUR WILL BE FROM 4 PM TO 10 PM THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT FROM
THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

MUCH COOLER AIR WILL ENTER MONTANA THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. BY SUNDAY
MORNING...TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM THE UPPER 20S TO
MID 30S IN MANY AREAS...WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES MOSTLY IN THE 40S.
THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW IN THE LOWER
ELEVATIONS...AND ALL SNOW TO FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS. ANYONE WHO HAS
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR LATER THIS WEEKEND SHOULD BE PREPARED
FOR MORE WINTER LIKE CONDITIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 15, 7:42 PM MST, 5 hours 18 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
842 PM MDT THU MAY 15 2003

TIME(MDT)  .....EVENT  LOCATION..... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...........
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

0555 PM    14 S INVERNESS            MT   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S RUDYARD               MT   1.50 INCH HAIL
05/16/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S INVERNESS             MT   1 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           HAIL FELL FROM 6:05 TO 6:15
                                          REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S INVERNESS             MT   40 MPH TSTM GUST
05/15/03   HILL

0630 PM    12 N HINGHAM              MT   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

NNNN

Local storm report, May 15, 7:42 PM MST, 5 hours 18 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
842 PM MDT THU MAY 15 2003

TIME(MDT)  .....EVENT  LOCATION..... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...........
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

0555 PM    14 S INVERNESS            MT   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S RUDYARD               MT   1.50 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S INVERNESS             MT   1 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           HAIL FELL FROM 6:05 TO 6:15
                                          REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S INVERNESS             MT   40 MPH TSTM GUST
05/15/03   HILL

0630 PM    12 N HINGHAM              MT   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

NNNN

Local storm report, May 15, 10:39 PM MST, 2 hours 21 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
842 PM MDT THU MAY 15 2003

TIME(MDT)  .....EVENT  LOCATION..... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...........
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

0555 PM    14 S INVERNESS            MT   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S RUDYARD               MT   1.50 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S INVERNESS             MT   1 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           HAIL FELL FROM 6:05 TO 6:15
                                          REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

0615 PM    5 S INVERNESS             MT   40 MPH TSTM GUST
05/15/03   HILL

0630 PM    12 N HINGHAM              MT   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/15/03   HILL                           REPORTED BY TRAINED WEATHER
                                          SPOTTER

NNNN

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Hill

When: May 16, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Hill forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, May 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: 5358267.