Thunderstorms developed over Cascade county late in the afternoon on the 28th. Wind gusts to 60 mph were reported.
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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 TFX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed over Cascade county late in the afternoon on the 28th. Wind gusts to 60 mph were reported.
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 May 28, 2:00 PM MST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 300 PM MDT WED MAY 28 2008 .DISCUSSION... TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AN UNSETTLED UPPER LEVEL PATTERN WILL EXIST OVER THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...WITH LITTLE MOVEMENT IN A CLOSED AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST. HOWEVER...AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE NEAR THE SEASONAL AVERAGE DURING THE SHORT TERM FORECAST PERIODS. THIS EVENING...LOW AND MID LEVEL ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY WILL ALLOW THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO EXIST OVER SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE ANTICIPATED TO DIMINISH TO RAIN SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL FOLLOW THE OVERNIGHT SHOWER ACTIVITY...WITH INCREASED CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION FROM THURSDAY MORNING THRU THURSDAY EVENING ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP DURING THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. BY THURSDAY NIGHT...WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL EXIST OVER THE REGION. THIS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL LIKELY BE INSUFFICIENT TO DRY OUT THE AREA...HOWEVER FORECAST PRECIPITATION CHANCES GREATER THAN 30 PERCENT ARE CONFINED TO THE CENTRAL... SOUTHWEST...AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGES BY THIS TIME. BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...THE NEXT WEAK STORM SYSTEM IS ANTICIPATED TO ARRIVE IN THE REGION. PRECIPITATION AND THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL WILL INCREASE DURING FRIDAY AFTERNOON ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE REGION AND HIGH ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. ZUMPFE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...WEAK RIDGING AND SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL CHARACTERIZE THIS PERIOD. PLENTY OF AVAILABLE MOISTURE AND WARMER TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND/OR THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL BECOME A LITTLE MORE WIDESPREAD ON SUNDAY AS AN UPPER TROF MOVES OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN TO DRY OUT BY THE END OF THE PERIOD AS THE UPPER TROF FORMS A CUT-OFF LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...MODELS SHOW A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST WITH A TROUGH OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON TUESDAY AND OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY...FOR A GENERALLY MOIST AND UNSTABLE SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THUS...WILL GO FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH A FEW MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSE TO SEASONAL AVERAGE. WILLIAMSON DC && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1745Z. AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE REMAINS ACROSS THE AREA AND AFTERNOON INSTABILITY WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION. ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP...MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...BUT SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. && .HYDROLOGY... HYDROLOGY CONCERNS CONTINUE FOR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH STREAMS AND RIVERS STILL RUNNING HIGH. AN AREAL FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. IN PARTICULAR...THE MARIAS RIVER...BADGER CREEK...AND THE DEARBORN RIVER CONTINUE TO BE AT OR NEAR FLOOD STAGE. THE MISSOURI RIVER NEAR LANDUSKY MAY EXPERIENCE A RAPID RISE IN LEVEL DURING THE FEW DAYS AS WELL. ZUMPFE && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 44 70 46 70 / 30 40 20 20 CTB 44 70 47 68 / 20 40 20 30 HLN 46 70 47 71 / 50 40 30 30 BZN 40 68 41 68 / 40 50 30 30 WEY 35 60 35 60 / 40 40 40 30 DLN 40 66 41 66 / 50 50 30 30 HVR 46 75 50 74 / 20 30 30 30 LWT 44 68 45 69 / 40 40 30 30 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...ZUMPFE LONG TERM...EMANUEL/WILLIAMSON DC AVIATION...ZELZER WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 559 AM MDT WED MAY 28 2008 MTZ009-010-012-014-044-046-048>051-291200- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN GLACIER-CASCADE- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-TOOLE-EASTERN PONDERA- SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS- 559 AM MDT WED MAY 28 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS MORNING FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MONTANA. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MONTANA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ008-015-052>055-291200- BEAVERHEAD-MADISON-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 559 AM MDT WED MAY 28 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ011-013-045-047-291200- HILL-CHOUTEAU-LIBERTY-BLAINE- 559 AM MDT WED MAY 28 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER THROUGH TONIGHT IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...ARE POSSIBLE OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MONTANA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 42 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:05 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Monarch 18W.
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, May 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: 93566.