Tornado, Carter
- When
- June 6, 4:41 PM MST to 5:11 PM MST
- Where
- Carter County, 10 mi NW of Ekalaka
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 30 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 45.983, -104.700
Tornado in Montana, June 6, 2005
Four different tornado touchdowns over a 30 minute period northwest of Ekalaka. The tornadoes came from different parts of a large mesocyclone.
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
- 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 BYZ wrote it up.
Four different tornado touchdowns over a 30 minute period northwest of Ekalaka. The tornadoes came from different parts of a large mesocyclone. At times...the tornadoes had multiple vortices. No damage was reported as the area was sparsely populated.
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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 6, 1:10 PM MST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 1:10 PM MST, 3 hours 31 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
210 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005
.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR TUE AND WED...
GFS/NAM IN CLOSE AGREEMENT WITH 12Z RUN TODAY. NAM INITIALIZING
SLIGHTLY BETTER WITH UPPER AIR SOUNDINGS AND WILL TREND FORECAST
TOWARD THE NAM.
TONIGHT...MAIN THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ALL OF
SOUTHEAST MONTANA WHICH INCLUDES ROSEBUD...CUSTER...POWDER
RIVER...FALLON...CARTER AND SHERIDAN COUNTIES. SURFACE LOW OVER
NORTHEAST WYOMING WILL ENHANCE LOW LEVEL JET AND ADVECT VERY
MOIST SURFACE AIR INTO THESE AREAS. SURFACE FRONT ALSO MOVING
THROUGH AND WILL BRING GOOD SURFACE CONVERGENCE. UPPER DYNAMICS
ALSO INCREASING AS UPPER LOW BRINGING INCREASING DIFFLUENCE ALOFT.
DAYTIME HEATING HAS BROUGHT STEEP LAPSE RATES TO THESE AREAS ALONG
WITH CAPES AROUND 2000 J/KG. STRONG DIRECTIONAL SHEAR OVER THE
SOUTHEAST WHICH WILL SUPPORT ROTATING SUPER CELLS THROUGH THIS
EVENING. A TORNADO WATCH HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS
FOR THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON. OVERCAST SKIES HAVE LIMITED
HEATING OVER SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON AND POTENTIAL
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAS DECREASED. STILL A POTENTIAL FOR
GUSTY WINDS OVER THE WESTERN ZONES WITH STORMS. MID AND UPPER
LEVEL DYNAMICS WITH TROUGH MOVING IN STILL LOOK IMPRESSIVE FOR
LIKELY POPS OVERNIGHT.
TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...UPPER TROUGH MOVING IN OVER THE
FORECAST AREA FOR UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN. UPPER LOW WILL MOVE
IN OVER NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY TUESDAY
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. BEST SHOT OF PRECIPITATION WILL COME TUESDAY
AFTERNOON AS STRONG DIVERGENCE MOVES THROUGH. MADE LITTLE ADJUSTMENTS
TO CURRENT GRID TEMPERATURES AS THEY MATCHED UP WELL WITH
GUIDANCE. RICHMOND
.LONG TERM...VALID FOR THU...FRI...SAT...SUN...MON...
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL BE SITTING OVER THE REGION THURSDAY
KEEPING CONDITIONS COOL AND SOMEWHAT UNSETTLED. MODELS ARENT
SHOWING A LOT OF LIFT SO WILL KEEP POPS ON THE LOW SIDE. MODELS
DIVERGE A BIT FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WITH THE GFS FLATTENING THE
FLOW...WHILE THE ECMWF KEEPS MORE OF A TROUGH OVER THE AREA. WILL
GO MORE WITH THE ECWMF SOLUTION AND KEEP TEMPS ON THE COOL SIDE
AND STILL MENTION A CHANCE OF RAIN. MODEL DIFFERENCES CONTINUE
INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...BUT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM ARENT
DRASTIC. TEMPERATURES LOOK TO REBOUND SOME MONDAY WITH SOME
LOCATIONS FLIRTING WITH 80 DEGREES...STILL BELOW NORMAL. IT ALSO
APPEARS BILLINGS WILL BREAK THE RECORD FOR NOT EXPERIENCING AN 80
DEGREE OR WARMER DAY THIS LATE INTO THE SPRING...THE CURRENT
RECORD IN JUNE 10. MOORE
&&
.AVIATION...
MAIN THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING WILL BE
FROM KBIL EAST TO KMLS...AS WELL AS IN NORTHERN WYOMING AROUND
KBYG AND KSHR. THESE STORMS COULD BE LOCALLY SEVERE WITH MVFR AND
POSSIBLY IFR CONDITIONS...AS WELL AS GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. EVEN IN
PARTS OF TWEB ROUTES NOT AFFECTED BY THE THUNDERSTORMS...MVFR
CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE DUE TO STRATUS CIGS.
FOISY
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...
TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN MON
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 047/063 047/061 046/069 048/070 050/071 050/072 050/078
66/T 66/W 22/T 22/T 23/T 32/T 00/B
LVM 038/053 038/060 040/065 039/067 041/066 042/070 043/073
66/T 66/W 43/T 33/T 33/T 32/T 00/B
HDN 047/067 046/063 045/070 049/070 050/076 050/073 050/080
64/T 64/W 22/T 22/T 23/T 33/T 00/B
MLS 051/068 050/066 048/071 047/071 052/073 052/074 052/075
74/T 76/W 53/T 22/T 23/T 33/T 32/R
4BQ 049/069 048/066 046/072 046/071 051/074 052/073 050/074
64/T 63/W 22/T 22/T 23/T 33/T 30/B
BHK 052/066 047/063 045/066 045/069 048/070 051/072 050/076
74/T 66/W 52/T 22/T 23/T 34/T 32/R
SHR 044/064 040/064 043/069 042/067 045/072 047/074 046/076
64/T 63/W 22/T 22/T 23/T 33/T 00/B
&&
.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...TORNADO WATCH 417 IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
ZONES 30>33-36>38-57-58.
WY...TORNADO WATCH 417 IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR
ZONES 98-99.
&&
WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGSHazardous weather outlook, Jun 6, 11:39 AM MST, 5 hours 2 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT 1239 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005 MTZ030>033-036>038-057-058-WYZ098-099-071845- TREASURE-NORTHERN ROSEBUD-CUSTER-FALLON-POWDER RIVER-CARTER- SOUTHERN BIG HORN-NORTHERN BIG HORN-SOUTHERN ROSEBUD- NORTHEAST BIG HORN MOUNTAINS-SHERIDAN FOOTHILLS- 1239 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING...SOUTHEAST MONTANA AND SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA AND CONTINUE UNTIL EARLY THIS EVENING. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE. TORNADO WATCH 417 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MDT. REFER TO GTFWCNBYZ FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ028-029-034-035-039>042-056-063>068-071845- SOUTHERN WHEATLAND-MUSSELSHELL-NORTHERN STILLWATER-YELLOWSTONE- EASTERN CARBON-NORTHERN PARK-NORTHERN SWEET GRASS-GOLDEN VALLEY- RED LODGE FOOTHILLS-JUDITH GAP-PARADISE VALLEY-LIVINGSTON AREA- BEARTOOTH FOOTHILLS-ABSAROKA/BEARTOOTH MOUNTAINS-CRAZY MOUNTAINS- 1239 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER 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
Local storm report, Jun 6, 4:07 PM MST, 34 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
507 PM MDT MON JUN 06 2005
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0425 PM HAIL EKALAKA 45.89N 104.55W
06/06/2005 0.75 INCH CARTER MT CO-OP OBSERVER
&&
TRCLocal storm report, Jun 6, 4:19 PM MST, 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
519 PM MDT MON JUN 06 2005
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0440 PM HAIL EKALAKA 45.89N 104.55W
06/06/2005 0.75 INCH CARTER MT LAW ENFORCEMENT
PENNY SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY COUNTY SHERIFF.
&&
BETSpecial weather statement, Jun 6, 4:39 PM MST, 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT 539 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005 MTZ030-038-057-WYZ098-099-070045- TREASURE-SOUTHERN BIG HORN-NORTHERN BIG HORN- NORTHEAST BIG HORN MOUNTAINS-SHERIDAN FOOTHILLS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HYSHAM...PRYOR...LODGE GRASS...HARDIN... CROW AGENCY...BURGESS JCT...SHERIDAN 539 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELED TORNADO WATCH 417 FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN MONTANA THIS CANCELS 2 COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA BIG HORN IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA TREASURE IN WYOMING THIS CANCELS 1 COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL WYOMING SHERIDAN THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...HARDIN...CROW AGENCY... SHERIDAN AND HYSHAM. MTZ031>033-036-037-058-070045- NORTHERN ROSEBUD-CUSTER-FALLON-POWDER RIVER-CARTER- SOUTHERN ROSEBUD- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...COLSTRIP...FORSYTH...MILES CITY... BAKER...BROADUS...EKALAKA...LAME DEER 539 PM MDT MON JUN 6 2005 TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 417 REMAINS VALID UNTIL 6 PM MDT FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN MONTANA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 5 COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST MONTANA CARTER CUSTER FALLON POWDER RIVER ROSEBUD THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...BAKER...MILES CITY...BROADUS... EKALAKA...COLSTRIP...LAME DEER AND FORSYTH.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Pennsylvania, June 6, 2005
- Heat in Missouri, June 6, 2005
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, June 6 to 7, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 6 to 7, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, June 6, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, June 6, 2005
- Flood and Hail in Georgia, June 6, 2005
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, June 6, 2005
- Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, June 6, 2005
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, June 6, 2005
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, June 6, 2005
- Lightning Strikes in Pennsylvania, June 6, 2005
More
Every storm in Montana in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Montana, 2005Warnings 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: 5451568.