Very dry conditions and a lightning strike started a wildfire that burned over 500 acres.
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 TFX wrote it up.
Very dry conditions and a lightning strike started a wildfire that burned over 500 acres.
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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 18, 9:55 PM MST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1055 PM MDT FRI JUL 18 2008 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .UPDATE...DISTURBANCE THAT KICKED OFF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF MY CWA IS MOVING OFF INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS...BUT ACTIVITY IS QUICKLY DIMINISHING. MAIN TRACK OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL TAKE IT EAST THROUGH SOUTHERN ALBERTA OVERNIGHT. MOST ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO STAY NORTH OF THE CANADIAN BORDER...BUT HAVE OPTED TO ADD ISOLATED POPS ALONG THE BORDER FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT. HAVE ALSO MADE CHANGES TO THE WIND FORECAST FOR MANY LOCATIONS IN NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. OUTFLOW FROM THUNDERSTORMS IN CANADA HAVE SWITCHED WINDS AROUND TO THE NORTH AND INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME. THE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY BACK TO THE NORTHWEST AND DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT. MPJ && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0455Z. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL... CENTRAL...AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY EVENING. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE KHVR TERMINAL THAT FORMED ALONG AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE OUT OF THE TERMINAL AREA THROUGH 07Z. THIS BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH THROUGH CENTRAL MONTANA THROUGH 10Z...CAUSING A TEMPORARY INCREASE IN NORTHERLY WINDS TO 20 TO 35 KT A THE KGTF...KHLN...AND KLWT TERMINALS. OTHERWISE...BREEZY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL PERSIST OVERNIGHT ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL ALSO MOVE ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER OVERNIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING...WHICH WILL KEEP ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR THE KCTB TERMINAL OVERNIGHT AND NEAR THE KHVR TERMINAL LATER TONIGHT THROUGH THE DAY ON SATURDAY. THE MAIN EFFECT OF THESE STORMS WILL BE GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS TO 35 KT. CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA WILL REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY. COULSTON && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 615 PM MDT FRI JUL 18 2008/ TROF ALONG BC/ALBERTA BORDER CONTINUES TO TRACK EAST-SOUTHEASTWARD WITH TROF AXIS JUST REACHING ID PANHANDLE AT 2PM. AIRMASS AHEAD OF THE TROF AXIS IN WESTERN/CENTRAL MT HAS BEEN MARGINALLY UNSTABLE SINCE THIS MORNING...RESULTING IN A FEW MODERATE TO STRONG BUT SHORT-LIVED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SRN/SE PARTS OF THE CWA. EXPECT AIRMASS TO CONTINUE TO DESTABILIZE THIS AFTN/EVE AS TROF AXIS ARRIVES ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL DYNAMIC PUSH FROM 80 MPH JET STREAK PASSING ALONG MT/WY BORDER. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP PRIMARILY FROM GREAT FALLS SOUTHWARD WITH MORE ISOLATED COVERAGE ALONG THE HI-LINE. LOW-LEVEL WIND SHEAR VALUES HAVE DECREASED A BIT FROM PREVIOUS MODEL RUNS BUT SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT GIVEN OTHER PARAMETERS TO GENERATE A FEW SEVERE CELLS WITH QUARTER-SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OF 50-60 MPH. FORECAST STILL ON TRACK FOR UPPER TROF TO LIFT OUT TO THE NORTHEAST DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS WITH STORMS DECREASING FROM WEST TO EAST AFTER SUNSET...ALTHOUGH A FEW MODERATE CELLS MAY PERSIST NEAR HAVRE UNTIL EARLY SAT MORNING. TRANSIENT SHORTWAVE RIDGE ARRIVES BY MIDDAY SAT WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS. AS THE MAIN UPPER RIDGE MOVES INTO ERN COLORADO ON SUN...FLOW ALOFT WILL TURN SOUTHWESTERLY AND PUSH TEMPS UPWARD TO HIGH 80S/LOW 90S EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. MODELS ALSO HINTING AT POSSIBILITY OF SOME MONSOONAL MOISTURE ROTATING UP THE BACKSIDE OF THE RIDGE INTO FAR SW MT WHERE OROGRAPHICS AND AFTN HEATING WILL TRIGGER SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. WARANAUSKAS SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN CONUS WILL RESULT IN TEMPERATURES ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES AND MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA EARLY NEXT WEEK. HIGH TEMPS ON MONDAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE 5 TO 10 DEGREES ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES...WITH LOWER 90S ACROSS LOWER ELEVATIONS. TEMPERATURES WILL BEGIN TO GRADUALLY COOL THROUGH MIDWEEK...AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BREAKS DOWN IN RESPONSE TO ONE OR MORE PACIFIC TROUGHS MOVING ONSHORE. THE ECMWF APPEARS TO FLATTEN THE RIDGE QUITE A BIT FASTER THAN THE GFS. AS A RESULT...THE GFS IS POINTING TOWARD WARMER TEMPS THROUGH MIDWEEK COMPARED TO THE ECMWF...ALONG WITH DRIER CONDITIONS AND A STORM TRACK NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA. MORE WEIGHT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE GFS IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST...AS THE LARGE AMPLITUDE OF THE RIDGE AND CLIMATOLOGY WOULD FAVOR A SLOWER DEAMPLIFICATION AND A MORE NORTHERN STORM TRACK. ALSO...GOOD CONSISTENCY AMONG MEMBERS OF THE GFS ENSEMBLE HAS BEEN NOTED FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD. HOWEVER...BY MIDWEEK...FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE SOUTHWESTERLY AS BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF INDICATE A DEEPENING PACIFIC TROUGH APPROACHING THE REGION WITH INCREASING DEEP LAYER MEAN FLOW OVER THE AREA. AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES OVER THE REGION...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WITH A SMALLER CHANCE AND MAINLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN TUESDAY AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE...SKIES WILL BE PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLEAR THROUGH THE PERIOD. COHEN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...LATEST EXTENDED MODEL SOLUTIONS INDICATE A SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH PERIODIC DISTURBANCES FLOWING THROUGH. INSERTED CLIMO POPS THROUGH THE PERIOD. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR NORMAL FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL PLAINS. SAUCIER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 50 82 50 90 / 10 10 0 0 CTB 47 78 47 86 / 10 10 0 0 HLN 55 86 55 93 / 10 0 0 0 BZN 50 88 48 95 / 20 0 0 10 WEY 43 77 45 83 / 20 0 0 10 DLN 46 84 50 90 / 20 0 0 10 HVR 51 80 49 90 / 10 10 0 0 LWT 49 78 48 87 / 10 10 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...MPJ/WARANAUSKAS LONG TERM...COHEN/SAUCIER AVIATION...COULSTON WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 702 PM MDT FRI JUL 18 2008 MTZ008>015-044>055-191200- BEAVERHEAD-NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN GLACIER-HILL- CASCADE-CHOUTEAU-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON- TOOLE-LIBERTY-EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE- SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS- JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 702 PM MDT FRI JUL 18 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning sparked a wildfire that burned over 500 acres during four days. Suppression costs were just under $300,000.
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: 124082.