Name: Damaging Wind in Montana, May 19, 2005
Start: 2005-05-19T14:00
End: 2005-05-19T14:00
Location: Montana

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 May 19, 7:59 AM MST, 6 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 7:59 AM MST, 6 hours 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
859 AM MDT THU MAY 19 2005

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR TDY AND FRI...

ELEVATED INSTABILITY ALONG WITH SOME JET FORCING IS HELPING SOME
SHOWERS AND EVEN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MOVE ACROSS THE REGION.
MODELS ARE NOT DEALING WITH THE SITUATION VERY WELL.  COVERAGE IS
GREATEST ACROSS CENTRAL MONTANA AND JUST CLIPPING THE NORTHWEST
ZONES AND WILL ADJUST POPS SLIGHTLY TO ACCOUNT FOR CURRENT
TRENDS. CONVECTION SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY AND SHOULD TAP
INTO BETTER INSTABILITY WITH DAY TIME HEATING. DONT EXPECT
COVERAGE TO INCREASE THAT MUCH....BUT INTENSITY OF THE SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE GREATER. TEMP AND WIND FORECAST FOR TODAY
LOOKS ON TRACK AND WILL LEAVE ALONE. MOORE

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR SAT...SUN...MON...TUE...WED...

A MOSTLY DRY EXTENDED PERIOD IS STILL ON TRACK THOUGH MODELS
CONTINUE TO BE VERY INCONSISTENT FROM RUN TO RUN CONCERNING AN
UPPER LOW LATE IN THE PERIOD. EARLY ON...SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
SHOULD BE DRY ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA EXCEPT THE EAST WHERE
LINGERING TROUGH ON SATURDAY AND A WEAK COLD FRONT LATE SUNDAY
WILL KEEP THE CHANCE FOR SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST. THERMAL RIDGE TO
BE OVER THE AREA SUNDAY THOUGH THE MODELS ARE SLIGHTLY COOLER
TONIGHT THAN THEY WERE YESTERDAY. HAVE ADJUSTED TEMPERATURES BACK
TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ENSEMBLE RANGE...WHICH IS CLOSE TO WHERE THE
ENSEMBLE MEANS WERE AT THIS TIME LAST NIGHT.

DIFFERENCES IN THE MODELS CONTINUE TO BE SOMEWHAT SIGNIFICANT
WITH PLACEMENT OF AN UPPER LOW TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY. TONIGHTS
MODEL SOLUTION HAS THE LOW OVER CENTRAL MONTANA BY TUESDAY
EVENING WHERE LAST NIGHT AND YESTERDAYS RUNS HAVE THIS LOW JUST
OFF THE PACIFIC COAST OF WASHINGTON. HAVE OPTED TO LEAVE FORECAST
DRY FOR NOW SINCE EARLIER IN THE WEEK THE MODELS WERE FORECASTING
A RIDGE OVER THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AND THE IDEA OF THE LOW
BEING OVER MONTANA IS FAIRLY NEW. MACZKO

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...

    TDY FRI     SAT     SUN     MON     TUE     WED
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 079 050/076 051/070 046/074 050/072 047/071 047/070
    2/T 22/T    30/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
LVM 074 043/070 049/064 041/072 044/071 042/071 042/070
    2/T 22/T    30/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
HDN 080 052/078 051/068 047/076 049/075 050/072 050/073
    2/T 22/T    30/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
MLS 081 050/080 053/071 049/077 050/074 053/073 051/073
    2/T 22/T    32/T    00/B    10/B    00/B    00/B
4BQ 080 050/082 051/073 047/076 049/076 049/070 047/069
    1/B 22/T    32/T    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B
BHK 081 047/082 051/070 045/075 045/075 047/069 046/068
    2/T 22/T    32/T    00/B    20/B    00/B    00/B
SHR 079 046/082 049/069 043/074 042/076 043/072 042/069
    2/T 02/T    20/B    00/B    00/B    00/B    00/B

&&

.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...NONE.
WY...NONE.

&&

WEATHER.GOV/BILLINGS

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 19, 1:50 PM MST, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
250 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0249 PM     HAIL             1 S WORDEN              45.95N 108.17W
05/19/2005  0.88 INCH        YELLOWSTONE        MT   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

MOORE

Local storm report, May 19, 1:56 PM MST, 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
256 PM MDT THU MAY 19 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0242 PM     HAIL             1 S WORDEN              45.95N 108.17W
05/19/2005  0.88 INCH        YELLOWSTONE        MT   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

MOORE

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Yellowstone

When: May 19, 2:00 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, Ballantine
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.950, -108.150

Garage doors damaged

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

More

Every storm in Montana in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, May 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: 5530729.