Hail, Ravalli
- When
- August 5, 5:50 PM MST
- Where
- Ravalli County, 16 mi NE of Sula
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 46.000, -113.733
Hail in Montana, August 5, 2004
Strong hail producing thunderstorms developed over west central Montana during the evening hours. One inch hail was reported by the Tepee Point Lookout in Ravalli County.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 hail producing thunderstorms developed over west central Montana during the evening hours. One inch hail was reported by the Tepee Point Lookout in Ravalli County. Ping Pong sized hail covered Highway 93 just north of Lost Trail Pass in southern Ravalli County up to several inches deep. Ping Pong sized hail dented a vehicle passing over Lost Trail Pass. Three quarter inch diameter hail along with three quarters of an inch of heavy rain in 40 minutes was reported in eastern Missoula and western Granite Counties.
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 5, 12:31 PM MST, 5 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 12:31 PM MST, 5 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 131 PM MDT THU AUG 5 2004 .SHORT TERM...ACTIVE AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHAPING UP WITH THERMAL THROUGH OVER THE REGION...GOOD UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION AND JET NOSING INTO THE AREA FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT FROM SOUTHWEST MONTANA UP THROUGH GLACIER THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ABOVE MENTIONED LOCATIONS UNTIL 7PM THIS EVENING. CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE QUICKLY THIS EVENING WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE THERMAL THROUGH AND SURFACE RIDGING BUILDING QUICKLY BEHIND. TEMPERATURES TONIGHT ARE EXPECTED TO BE A FEW DEGREES COOLER TONIGHT WITH RAIN COOLED AIR OVER THE AREA AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES. WILL HAVE TO FOG FORMATION OVERNIGHT IN VALLEYS THAT RECEIVE DECENT RAINFALL AMOUNTS TODAY. CURRENTLY EXPECT FOG IN THE VALLEYS ALONG THE IDAHO BORDER AND IN SOUTHWEST VALLEYS LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. FRIDAY WILL BE COOLER WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF AFTERNOON CONVECTION... MAINLY MISSOULA NORTHWARD. THIS CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO LAST INTO THE OVERNIGHT TIMEFRAME AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MAKES ITS WAY OVER NORTHWEST MONTANA. TEMPERATURES FRIDAY NIGHT WILL BE SIMILAR IF NOT A FEW DEGREES WARMER THAN TONIGHT WITH MAINLY CLOUDY SKIES AND SOME WINDS TO KEEP THINGS MIXED. .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE HAS BEEN HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES FOR THE WEEKEND. GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO GO QUITE COOL...ESPECIALLY FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. HAVE MOVED TEMPERATURES DOWN A LITTLE FOR THE WEEKEND BUT REMAIN UNCONVINCED THAT HIGHS WILL ONLY BE IN THE HIGH 60S...WILL CONTINUE TO CONSIDER ALL OPTIONS. MODELS CONTINUE TO BUILD A RIDGE OVER THE REGION NEXT WEEK. HAVE GOOD CONFIDENCE AS THIS SEEMS REASONABLE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE SLIGHTLY WARMER THAN CLIMO BUT NOT LOOKING UNUSUALLY WARM AS WE REMAIN UNDER EASTERLY FLOW. ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO ONGOING FORECAST. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 01Z (7PM MDT) MTZ002-006-007- 043. ID...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 01Z (7PM MDT)IDZ010. && SHORT TERM/MEAD LONG TERM/KREYENHAGEN/MWJ
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 5, 1:16 PM MST, 4 hours 34 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 216 PM MDT (116 PM PDT) THU AUG 5 2004 IDZ005>009-MTZ001-003>005-060600- NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS- OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION- FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS-LOWER CLARK FORK REGION- MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS- 216 PM MDT (116 PM PDT) THU AUG 5 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON. SOME STORMS MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE. STRONG GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY 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. IDZ010-MTZ002-006-007-043-060600- EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY-WEST GLACIER REGION- BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION- 216 PM MDT THU AUG 5 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE. STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN FLATHEAD...GRANITE...POWELL...DEER LODGE AND SILVER BOW COUNTIES IN WESTERN MONTANA AND EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY IN IDAHO UNTIL 700 PM MDT. SEE GTFSEL2 FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY 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 Missoula radar (KMSX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:51 UTC.
Event by event
4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Ravalli
- When
- August 5, 7:15 PM MST
- Where
- Ravalli County, 7 mi S of Sula
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 45.733, -113.967
Hail, Missoula
- When
- August 5, 7:15 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, Clearwater
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 47.000, -113.300
Hail, Granite
- When
- August 5, 7:25 PM MST
- Where
- Granite County, 18 mi W of Hall
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 46.417, -113.583
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
- Rip Current in North Carolina, August 5, 2004
- Flash Flood and Hail in Georgia, August 5, 2004
- Flash Flooding in Colorado, August 5, 2004
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, August 5, 2004
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 5, 2004
- Damaging Winds in Montana, August 5 to 6, 2004
- Heavy Rain in Kansas, August 5, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Colorado, August 5 to 7, 2004
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, August 5, 2004
- Hail in Montana, August 5, 2004
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 5, 2004
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, August 5, 2004
More
Every storm in Montana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, August 2004
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: 5420022, 5420023, 5420024, 5420025.