Thunderstorm Wind, Flathead
- When
- June 5, 4:30 PM MST to 5:30 PM MST
- Where
- Flathead County, Whitefish
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $12,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 48.417, -114.333
Damaging Wind in Montana, June 5, 2005
Strong thunderstorms moved through the northern and eastern portions of the Flathead Valley from Whitefish, Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Corum to Ferndale and to Big Fork. Thunderstorm winds caused numerous trees to fall onto power lines with widespread power outages.
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
- $12,000
- 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.
Strong thunderstorms moved through the northern and eastern portions of the Flathead Valley from Whitefish, Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Corum to Ferndale and to Big Fork. Thunderstorm winds caused numerous trees to fall onto power lines with widespread power outages. Flathead County Sheriff also reported damage to a roof of a business in Kalispell.
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 5, 2:13 PM MST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 5, 2:13 PM MST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED AVIATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
313 PM MDT SUN JUN 5 2005
.UPDATE...UPDATE TO ADD FLASH FLOOD WATCH.
&&
.AVIATION...THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT WESTERN MONTANA TAF SITES AND
TWEB ROUTES THROUGH MIDNIGHT AS A PACIFIC COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH
THE AREA. GUSTY WINDS TO 30 KTS ARE LIKELY NEAR CELLS WITH VISIBIILTY
BELOW 2 STATUTE MILES IN BURSTS OF MODERATE RAIN. CEILINGS GENERALLY
VFR EXCEPT FOR LOWERED THUNDERSTORMS BASES NEAR MOUNTAINS.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... (ISSUED 109 PM MDT SUN JUN 5 2005)
SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...AREA OF MODERATE RAIN SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED OVER WESTERN MONTANA THIS EVENING AS
PACIFIC COLD FRONT AND UPPER ATMOSPHERE ENERGY LIFT UNSTABLE AND
MOIST AIRMASS. BEST CHANCE OF MORE WIDESPREAD STRONG STORMS
APPEARS TO BE ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE EASTWARD...THOUGH
THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS...HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN EMBEDDED
WITHIN BROADER SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE TO THE IDAHO BORDER. CONCERN
IS WITH HEAVY RAIN IN AREAS WITH CREEKS ALREADY AT BANKFULL. MAY
NEED TO ISSUE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR AREAS NORTH AND EAST OF
MISSOULA FOR THIS EVENING. THIS WILL BE EVALUATED DEPENDING ON
RADAR TRENDS THROUGH 2 PM. AFTER FRONT AND UPPER ENERGY PASSES
THROUGH AROUND MIDNIGHT... ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE RAPIDLY AS
COOL STABLE AIR MOVES IN. FOR MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...COOL
TEMPERATURES PREVAIL UNDER LOW PRESSURE. DAYTIME HEATING WILL
RESULT IN SHOWERY WEATHER.
LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...SOME SMALL
CHANGES STARTING TO SHOW UP IN THE LONG TERM MODELS...WE WILL
STILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AN UPPER LEVEL LOW THROUGH
WEDNESDAY...HAVE CONTINUED WITH WET AND COOL FORECAST. THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY MAY BE DRIER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT SO HAVE REDUCED
PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND SLIGHTLY WARMED TEMPERATURES. GFS IS
HINTING AT A CLOSED UPPER LEVEL LOW NORTH OF THE CANADIAN BORDER
AGAIN FOR TUESDAY NIGHT...DEPENDING ON THE ACTUAL
POSITION...THERE COULD BE ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL EVENT FOR
NORTHWEST MONTANA. NEXT WEEKEND LOOKS UNSETTLED WITH MODELS
SHOWING MOIST ZONAL TO NORTHWEST FLOW.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR LAKE...FLATHEAD...POWELL
AND MISSOULA COUNTIES...
...FLOOD WARNING FOR SMALL STREAMS FROM MISSION MOUNTAINS IN
PORTION OF LAKE COUNTY CONTINUES THROUGH 9 PM.
ID...NONE.
&&
UPDATE...SIGLER
PREV DISCUSSION...SIGLER/KREYENHAGEN
AVIATION...SIGLER
weather.gov/missoulaHazardous weather outlook, Jun 5, 1:30 PM MST, 3 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 230 PM MDT (130 PM PDT) SUN JUN 5 2005 MTZ003-061000- FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS- 230 PM MDT SUN JUN 5 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THIS FRONT. HEAVY RAIN...LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THESE STORMS. PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECAST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM. ALSO...LAKE COUNTY CONTINUES TO REPORT SMALL STREAM AND CREEK FLOODING OVER ROADS. HIGHWAY 35 REMAINS CLOSED. PLEASE SEE GTFFLSMSO FOR LATEST DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 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. IDZ009-010-MTZ001-002-004>007-043-061000- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY-KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION- WEST GLACIER REGION-LOWER CLARK FORK REGION- MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS- BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION- 230 PM MDT SUN JUN 5 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY A VIGOROUS COLD FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THIS FRONT. HEAVY RAIN...LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THESE STORMS. PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECAST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 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. weather.gov/missoula
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 5, 11:37 AM MST, 4 hours 53 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1237 PM MDT SUN JUN 05 2005
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 PM FLOOD 10 NE POLSON 47.80N 114.01W
06/02/2005 LAKE MT COUNTY OFFICIAL
COUNTY ROADS CLOSED NEAR ST. IGNATIUS DUE TO FLOODING
FROM HEAVY RAIN. BRIDGE BETWEEN EAGLE PASS AND HIHITAH
CLOSED DUE TO HIGHWATER. LAKE MCDONALD IS FULL RESULTING
IN ASSOCIATED CREEKS AND STREAMS RUNNING OUT OF THEIR
BANKS.
0800 AM FLOOD ST. IGNATIUS 47.32N 114.09W
06/03/2005 LAKE MT COUNTY OFFICIAL
CREEKS CONTINUE TO RISE DUE TO 3 TO 6 INCHES OF RAIN OVER
THE LAST 72 HOURS. FLOODING REPORTED ALONG POST CREEK
WITH ONE HOUSE FLOODED. CROW CREEK IS FLOODING AND
IRRIGATION CANALS HAVE BEEN OVERTOPPED AND ARE PRODUCING
FLOODING.
0430 PM FLOOD 10 NE POLSON 47.80N 114.01W
06/03/2005 LAKE MT COUNTY OFFICIAL
HIGHWAY 35 CLOSED DUE TO DEBRIS-CLOGGED CULVERTS. MINOR
FLOODING ALONG SMALL STREAMS.
0545 PM FLOOD MISSOULA 46.87N 113.99W
06/03/2005 MISSOULA MT TRAINED SPOTTER
GRANT CREEK FLOWING VERY HIGH AND FLOWING OUT OF ITS
BANKS AND INTO SOME HOMEOWNERS YARDS.
0600 PM FLOOD MISSOULA 46.87N 113.99W
06/03/2005 MISSOULA MT TRAINED SPOTTER
STORM TOTAL SINCE JUNE 1 IS 2.71 INCHES.
0500 AM HEAVY RAIN BIGFORK 48.06N 114.07W
06/04/2005 0.00 INCH FLATHEAD MT TRAINED SPOTTER
STORM TOTAL SINCE JUNE 1 WAS 4.81 INCHES.
0800 AM FLOOD 10 NE POLSON 47.80N 114.01W
06/05/2005 LAKE MT COUNTY OFFICIAL
HIGHWAY 35 REMAINS CLOSED DUE TO MUDSLIDE AND LARGE HOLES
IN THE ROAD AS A RESULT OF WATER DAMAGE. MUDSLIDE
OCCURRED OVERNIGHT AND WAS DESCRIBED AS 90 FEET LONG AND
4 FEET DEEP BREAKING OFF 12 INCH TREES IN THE PROCESS.
&&
LAKEThe radar
The Missoula radar (KMSX), 155 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:28 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Rip Current in New York, June 5, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, June 5, 2005
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, June 5 to 6, 2005
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, June 5, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, June 5, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, June 5, 2005
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, June 5 to 6, 2005
- Flood and Damaging Wind in Georgia, June 5, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, June 5, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, June 5, 2005
- Lightning Strike in Missouri, June 5, 2005
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Michigan, June 5, 2005
More
Every storm in Montana in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, June 2005
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: 5462013.