On August 31, a strong cold front moved southeast across Western Montana during the late afternoon producing strong to severe thunderstorms in Lincoln County.
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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.
The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
On August 31, a strong cold front moved southeast across Western Montana during the late afternoon producing strong to severe thunderstorms in Lincoln County.
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 31, 1:48 PM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 248 PM MDT FRI AUG 31 2007 .DISCUSSION...ALTHOUGH CONVECTION HAS BEEN SLOW TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...THE ATMOSPHERE OVER CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA CONTINUES TO MOISTEN AND DESTABILIZE. IN FACT...OVER THE PAST HOUR VISIBLE SATELLITE AND RADAR HAVE SHOWN A RISE IN DEEP CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OVER OREGON...IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA. I ANTICIPATE THIS TREND TO CONTINUE AS ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS COMBINE WITH INCREASING MOISTURE AND ADDED LIFTING FROM A MID- LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH. DUE TO CONTINUED DRY CONDITIONS IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN ADDITION TO LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THERE WILL ALSO BE THE THREAT OF SMALL HAIL THIS EVENING OVER FAR WEST CENTRAL IDAHO AND FAR NORTHWEST MONTANA DUE TO INCREASING SPEED SHEER AND SOME COOLING ALOFT. AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES...THUNDERSTORMS WILL FURTHER MOISTEN THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE RESULTING IN A TRANSITION TO A SHOWERY REGIME WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. MODELS HAVE CONTINUED TO TREND THE FOCUS OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY FURTHER SOUTH...BUT CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT POINTS NORTH OF A LINE FROM GRANGEVILLE THROUGH HAMILTON TO BUTTE AND THEN SOUTH OF FLATHEAD LAKE WILL RECEIVE THE MOST WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION AND HIGHER PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS. SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE TOMORROW AS ENOUGH MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY REMAIN IN THE POST FRONTAL ENVIRONMENT. SUNDAY AND MONDAY...A TROUGH DIGGING OFF THE WEST COAST WILL HELP AMPLIFY THE RIDGE OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES ONCE AGAIN. HOT TEMPERATURES WILL INCREASE INSTABILITY AND HELP MIX DOWN BREEZY WINDS FROM ALOFT ON BOTH SUNDAY AND LABOR DAY. THE LACK OF MOISTURE WILL KEEP SUNDAY DRY...BUT ADDED MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY ON LABOR DAY BRINGS A CHANCE OF A FEW THUNDERSTORM OVER WESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN MONTANA. SINCE MOISTURE IS LIMITED ANY RAINFALL REACHING THE GROUND SHOULD BE MINIMAL. MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...A VIGOROUS TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL APPROACHING THE WEST COAST WITH A STRONG JET STREAK (+90KTS) POSITIONED OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST MONDAY NIGHT. THIS TROUGH SYSTEM WILL POSSESS CONSIDERABLE UPPER-LEVEL DYNAMICS AS IT MOVES THROUGH IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. AT THE MOMENT...ASSOCIATED MOISTURE IS NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE...BUT THE AIR MASS DOES DESTABILIZE WHICH HELPS FACILITATE DYNAMICS TO PRODUCE SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL ALSO USHER IN A MUCH COOLER AIR MASS INTO THE REGION LATER TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. WEDNESDAY WILL BE A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD AS THE UPPER TROUGH EXITS TO THE EAST AND NORTHERN IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA FALL UNDER AN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THE AIR MASS UNDERGO DRYING WITH A DECREASING TREND IN POPS AND MENTION OF SHOWERS. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...A WARM DRY AIR MASS WILL RESIDE OVER THE AREA AS THE UPPER FLOW BECOMES WESTERLY (ZONAL). && .AVIATION....SMOKE WILL IMPACT ALL TERMINALS AND ROUTES THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING CAUSING LOCALIZED REDUCED VISIBILITY TO 3 MILE IN SOME LOCATIONS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL WILL DEVELOP THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. IN ADDITION...THE POTENTIAL FOR TURBULENCE WILL BE INCREASING THIS EVENING AS THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES VERY UNSTABLE IN ADVANCE OF A FRONTAL PASSAGE OVERNIGHT. PLEASE SEE APPROPRIATE TAFS AND TWEBS FOR FURTHER DETAILS. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...NONE. ID...NONE. && SHORT TERM...DICKERSON LONG TERM....MSJ AVIATION...DICKERSON
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 1032 AM MDT FRI AUG 31 2007 IDZ005>008-MTZ001-003-004-010600- NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS- OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER REGION- KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS- LOWER CLARK FORK REGION- 1032 AM MDT FRI AUG 31 2007 /932 AM PDT FRI AUG 31 2007/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHWEST MONTANA AND WEST CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE DAY BECOMING FAIRLY WIDESPREAD BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. STRONG...GUSTY WINDS ALONG WITH SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS BRING THE PRIMARY THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ009-010-MTZ002-005>007-043-010600- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY-WEST GLACIER REGION- MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS- BUTTE/BLACKFOOT REGION-POTOMAC/SEELEY LAKE REGION- 1032 AM MDT FRI AUG 31 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHWEST MONTANA AND WEST CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG...GUSTY WINDS. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING DOWNBURST WIND GUSTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The Missoula radar (KMSX), 203 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:43 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The CO-OP Observer in Fortine reported several large trees blown down from thunderstorm winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, August 2007
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: 47298.