Strong thunderstorms with frequent cloud to ground lightning developed on the evening of July 10th resulting in two wildfires across northeast Montana.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 GGW wrote it up.
Strong thunderstorms with frequent cloud to ground lightning developed on the evening of July 10th resulting in two wildfires across northeast Montana.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 10, 7:58 PM MST, 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 858 PM MDT THU JUL 10 2008 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... A VERY WELL DEVELOPED JETSTREAM IS OVER NE MT...105 KT SHOWN ON 00Z KGGW SOUNDING AT 38K FT MSL. AN ASSOCIATED STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS OUR N SEPARATES HOT AND DRY AIR OVER OUR AREA TODAY... FROM MUCH COOLER...MOISTER...AND MORE UNSTABLE AIR N OF IT. THIS FRONT NOW INTENSIFYING AND STARTING TO MOVE SE ACROSS OUR AREA THIS EVE. CURRENT FORECAST OF ISOLATED TSTORMS WITH THE FRONT TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD...THE STRONGER STORMS BEHIND THE FRONT IN QUITE A BIT MORE UNSTABLE OF AN AIRMASS WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SEVERE STORMS IN AB AND SK. MINOR UPDATE MAINLY TO ADJUST WINDS. SIMONSEN PREVIOUS SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...CURRENT GOES WATER VAPOR CHANNEL INDICATES AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DIGGING INTO SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. RADAR IMAGERY AND OBSERVATIONS IN SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA SHOW NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF THE TROUGH. AT THE SURFACE...A COLD FRONT STRETCHES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PRAIRIE PROVINCES OF CANADA. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER WEAK COLD FRONT PRECEDING THE PRIMARY FRONT. WITH THIS FRONT TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 90S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 30S AHEAD OF IT...AND TEMPERATURES COOL TO THE 80S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 40S BEHIND IT. THE FIRST FRONT WILL CROSS THE CWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...WHICH ARE BEGINNING TO INITIATE IN SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN. PRIMARY COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA LATE TONIGHT WITH THE WIND TURNING TO THE NORTHWEST AND INCREASING. MOISTURE IS LIMITED AHEAD OF THE FRONT...BUT WITH STRONG DYNAMICS A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. BY TOMORROW MORNING A STRONG 850MB JET WILL AFFECT THE SOUTHEAST ZONES. CURRENT MODEL ANALYSIS SUGGESTS 45-50KT WINDS AT 850MB. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT WITH STRONG WINDS AT THIS LEVEL. BORDERLINE FOR A HIGH WIND EVENT...BUT COLD AIR ADVECTION AND STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES PROVIDE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO HOIST A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR PRAIRIE...DAWSON...RICHLAND...AND WIBAUX COUNTIES. POPS WERE INCREASED ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES GIVEN THE CURRENT COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE UPPER TROUGH...AND THAT THE MODELS ARE TRACKING IT ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES. SOME MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS LIKELY POPS...BUT JUST INCREASED TO HIGHER CHANCE AT THIS TIME AS THE TREND TOWARD WETTER CONDITIONS IS ONLY RECENT. THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN WILL BE 12 TO 18Z. THE TROUGH AXIS MOVES TO THE EAST AFTER 18Z WITH CYCLONIC NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT SUGGESTING ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THE STRONG WIND WILL CREATE SOME FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS...BUT RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL IMPROVE BEHIND THE FRONT. THE WIND WILL DIMINISH FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT THEN INCREASE AGAIN DURING THE DAY SATURDAY AS 850MB WINDS REMAIN AT 20 TO 30KT ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH COOLER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...WITH READINGS WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR EARLY JULY. AJZ .LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED PERIOD WITH THE 12Z MODEL RUNS. EXITING TROF AND REBOUNDING RIDGE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD FOR WARMING AND DRYING. SHORTWAVE SLIDES ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER IN THE MONDAY/TUESDAY TIME FRAME...DAMPENING RIDGE. SOME REBUILDING OF RIDGE FOR THE END OF THE PERIOD. BEST CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE WITH SHORTWAVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PERIOD. EBERT PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION...EXTENDED PERIOD BEGINS SATURDAY NIGHT WITH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT COURTESY OF A DEPARTING TROF OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION AND AN UPPER RIDGE ALONG THE WEST COAST. AT THE SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE PREVAILS. TEMPERATURES CONTINUE THEIR RECOVERY SUNDAY AS THE UPPER RIDGE AXIS MOVES INTO WESTERN MONTANA BRINGING WARMER AIR WITH IT. WILL MAKE SOME MINOR TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENTS FOR SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT BUT MORE OR LESS HOLD COURSE WITH DRY AND WARMING. PATTERN EVOLUTION CONTINUES AND BY MONDAY AFTERNOON THE RIDGE AXIS MOVES INTO WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA SETTING UP A RETURN TO SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AS THE FLOW BACKS WITH THE PASSING OF THE RIDGE AXIS. MODELS NOT INDICATING A PLETHORA OF MOISTURE AT THIS TIME...BUT WILL HOLD COURSE AND KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR THUNDERSTORMS AS DISTURBANCES BEGIN EJECTING OUR WAY IN THE SOUTHWEST FLOW. A COLD FRONT IS DUE MONDAY NIGHT OR EARLY TUESDAY AND WILL THUS MAINTAIN THE CURRENT POPS. UPPER FLOW THEN BEGINS TO VEER BACK TO MORE WESTERLY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. THE COLD FRONT MONDAY NIGHT OR EARLY TUESDAY IS NOT A PARTICULARLY STRONG ONE SO ALTHO TEMPERATURES DIP A BIT FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...THEY DO NOT FALL VERY MUCH. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A COLD FRONT WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT WHICH COULD RESULT IN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WHICH COULD BRIEFLY DROP CONDITIONS BELOW VFR SHOULD A STORM PASS OVER A TAF SITE. HOWEVER WIND WILL BE THE MAIN ISSUE TONIGHT THRU FRIDAY. THE STRONGEST WIND WILL COME LATER TONIGHT WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT. WIND WILL BECOME NORTHWEST AND INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 KT AND GUST TO 50 KT (GLENDIVE - LIGHTER ELSEWHERE) THRU FRIDAY AFTERNOON BEFORE DIMINISHING NEAR SUNSET FRIDAY EVENING. && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM MDT FRIDAY FOR FORT PECK LAKE. HIGH WIND WATCH FROM 6 AM MDT FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOR RICHLAND-DAWSON-PRAIRIE-WIBAUX. && WEATHER.GOV/GLASGOW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 348 PM MDT THU JUL 10 2008 MTZ017-022-023-111300- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY-GARFIELD-MCCONE- 348 PM MDT THU JUL 10 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A LAKE WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT FRIDAY. A WEST WIND OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING. THE WIND SHOULD WEAKEN BY MIDNIGHT...THEN INCREASE RAPIDLY LATE TONIGHT TO 20 TO 30 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY AND EARLY FRIDAY EVENING...WITH SPEEDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH FROM THE NORTHWEST...GUSTING UP TO 45 MPH. THESE WINDS WILL DIMINISH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ024>027-111300- RICHLAND-DAWSON-PRAIRIE-WIBAUX- 348 PM MDT THU JUL 10 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A COLD FRONT WILL BRING STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS FRIDAY. THE WIND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REACH SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 40 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED FROM MID MORNING TO EARLY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
An on-duty National Weather Service employee observed a small wildfire develop five miles northwest of Glasgow from a lightning strike. The fire grew to 10 acres in size before being extinguished.
Lightning caused a fire near Dry Blood Creek located on the Bureau of Land Management property north of Winnett. The fire grew to 14.3 acres in size consuming mostly tall grass with scattered conifers and sagebrush.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 2008
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: 124481, 124480.