Hail, Missoula
- When
- July 10, 5:30 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, Seeley Lake
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.267, -113.533
Hail and Heavy Rain in Montana, July 10, 2004
Summer storm brought hail and heavy rain to portions of west central montana. A mudslide caused by heavy rains damaged property in Clinton.
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.
- 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
- 6
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.
Summer storm brought hail and heavy rain to portions of west central montana. A mudslide caused by heavy rains damaged property in Clinton.
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 10, 2:11 PM MST, 3 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 10, 2:11 PM MST, 3 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 311 PM MDT SAT JUL 10 2004 .UPDATE...WILL UPDATE THE AFD TO INCLUDE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THIS EVENING. .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. ONGOING FORECAST FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION APPEARS TO BE ON TRACK. MADE ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO GRIDS. ETA AND GFS IN AGREEMENT WITH A STRONG TROUGH APPROACHING FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND AND WARM UNSTABLE AIR BEING TRANSPORTED OVER THE REGION BY THE SOUTHWEST FLOW. FOR SATURDAY, EXTENT AND SEVERITY OF AFTERNOON CONVECTION WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERN. IN THE NORTH, POSSIBILITY OF HAIL AND LOCALLY STRONG WINDS. IN THE SOUTH, DOWNBURST WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT. FOR SUNDAY, THE UPPER FLOW WILL SHIFT MORE WESTERLY OVER THE NORTH SO EXPECT SHOWERS TO BE FINISHED BY MORNING. SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER THE SOUTH MAY CAUSE AFTERNOON CONVECTION. MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...UPPER RIDGE LOOKS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE NEXT WEEK. THIS SCENARIO WILL KEEP THE VERY WARM AND MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE WEEK. WITH ALL THE SURFACE HEATING AND SOME WEAK RIPPLES IN THE UPPER LEVEL SOUTHWEST FLOW...AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION CAN NOT BE RULED OUT. ALTHOUGH MOST SHOULD BE CONFINED TO HIGHER TERRAIN. MODELS STILL TRYING TO ADVERTISE A PATTERN CHANCE TO COOLER AND WETTER BY THE END OF THE PERIOD...BUT GIVEN STRENGTH OF RIDGE THIS SEEMS A TOUGH SOLUTION TO VERIFY. THEREFORE...WILL ONLY NUDGE THINGS COOLER AND KEEP WITH SLIGHT CHANCE PRECIPITATION. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MTZ006-007-043 UNTIL 8 PM MDT... ID...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IDZ009-010 UNTIL 8 PM MDT... && UPDATE/KREYENHAGEN/NESTER PREVIOUS/KREYENHAGEN/MWJ//MEAD
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 10, 2:26 PM MST, 3 hours 4 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 326 PM MDT (226 PM PDT) SAT JUL 10 2004 IDZ009-010-MTZ006-007-043-111200- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY- BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION- 326 PM MDT SAT JUL 10 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY A WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN MONTANA AND LEMHI COUNTY OF NORTH-CENTRAL IDAHO. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS QUITE DRY AT THE LOWER LEVELS SETTING UP AN ENVIRONMENT WHICH FAVORS SUDDEN DOWNBURSTS OF WIND WITH STRONGER STORMS. GUSTS OF UP TO 70 MPH AND HAIL UP TO ONE INCH ARE POSSIBLE. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM MDT...PLEASE REFER TO GTFSLSMT FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 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. MTZ001>005-111200- KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-WEST GLACIER REGION-FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS- LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS- 326 PM MDT SAT JUL 10 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY A WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL INTERACT WITH A COOL UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND RESULT IN THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THE POTENTIAL FOR HAIL UP TO HALF AN INCH AND GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS...MAINLY THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 10, 5:30 PM MST, 0 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 630 PM MDT (530 PM PDT) SAT JUL 10 2004 IDZ009-010-110200- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY- 630 PM MDT SAT JUL 10 2004 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 597 IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT... THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR LEMHI COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELED. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...BUT SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. MTZ006-007-043-110200- BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION- 630 PM MDT SAT JUL 10 2004 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 597 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MDT.... THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR DEER LODGE... GRANITE...POWELL...AND SILVER BOW COUNTIES. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.
The radar
The Missoula radar (KMSX), 42 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:28 UTC.
Event by event
5 hail, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Missoula
- When
- July 10, 6:35 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, 8 mi SE of Clinton
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 46.700, -113.617
Heavy Rain, Missoula
- When
- July 10, 6:35 PM MST to 6:45 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, Clinton
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 47.037, -113.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail, Missoula
- When
- July 10, 6:55 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, Potomac
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.883, -113.583
Hail, Missoula
- When
- July 10, 7:35 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, Seeley Lake
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.267, -113.533
Hail, Missoula
- When
- July 10, 7:35 PM MST
- Where
- Missoula County, Seeley Lake
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 47.267, -113.533
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 10, 2004
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 10, 2004
- Heat in Missouri, July 10 to 13, 2004
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 10, 2004
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 10, 2004
- Flood and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 10, 2004
- Lightning Strike in Texas, July 10, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Nebraska, July 10 to 11, 2004
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 10, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 10, 2004
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 10, 2004
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, July 10, 2004
More
Every storm in Montana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 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: 5413375, 5413376, 5413380, 5413377, 5413378, 5413379.