Montana, 2008Lightning Strike in Montana, May 29, 2008
May 29, 2008 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone
Two firefighters were struck by lightning while conducting mop up of a prescribed burn west of Whitefish, MT.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- 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.
Two firefighters were struck by lightning while conducting mop up of a prescribed burn west of Whitefish, MT.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 29, 1:19 PM MST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 29, 1:19 PM MST, 2 hours 41 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
219 PM MDT THU MAY 29 2008
.DISCUSSION...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. A WEAK UPPER LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED LIGHT FLOW ALOFT WILL ALLOW MOISTURE TO
LINGER ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA THROUGH
FRIDAY. THE MAIN MECHANISM SUPPORTING SHOWERS WILL BE DAYTIME
HEATING. A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE AND WARMER AIR MASS IS
EXPECTED SATURDAY. HOWEVER...SOME MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY SHOULD
LINGER. MODELS ARE FAIRLY CONSISTENT SHOWING A MORE ORGANIZED
TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE BEGINNING TO IMPACT THE REGION SUNDAY. SNOW
MELT AND STREAM FLOWS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ONE OF THE PRIMARY
POTENTIAL ISSUES THROUGH SUNDAY. HOWEVER...IT APPEARS THE
PRECIPITATION WILL NOT BECOME WIDESPREAD ENOUGH TO ADD TO
SIGNIFICANTLY TO STREAM FLOWS...EXCEPT POSSIBLY BRIEFLY WITHIN
ISOLATED HEAVIER SHOWERS. AS SUCH...THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT
OR WIDESPREAD INCREASING SNOW MELT REMAINS LOW INTO SATURDAY.
ALTHOUGH SOME GRADUAL STREAM RISES ARE LIKELY WITH THE WARMER
TEMPERATURES SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY.
A WEATHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
MONDAY WITH THE UPPER FLOW TRANSITIONING TO A MORE ZONAL WESTERLY
FLOW IN THE WAKE OF THIS FEATURE. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
AGAIN A THREAT WITH THE SYSTEM. THE AIR MASS WILL REMAIN NEAR
NORMAL TEMPERATURE-WISE IN THE WESTERLY FLOW THROUGH THE FIRST
HALF OF NEXT WEEK. MODELS ARE SUGGESTING A SECOND SYSTEM DURING
THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK...BUT THERE IS MUCH UNCERTAINTY IN THE
TIMING OR STRENGTH...SO WILL KEEP SHOWER POTENTIAL NEAR TO
SLIGHTLY ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY FOR LATE SPRING.
&&
.AVIATION...AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL SUPPORT SCATTERED
CONVECTION AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS INTO THIS EVENING OVER WESTERN
MONTANA. OTHERWISE...SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE REMAINS ACROSS THE
REGION WITH HIGHER TERRAIN OBSCURATIONS CONTINUING. AS
TEMPERATURES COOL TONIGHT...SOME ADDITIONAL LOW CLOUD DEVELOPMENT
IS LIKELY IN THE VALLEYS AND ALONG THE TERRAIN.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...NONE.
ID...NONE.
&&
SHORT TERM...BAUCK
LONG TERM....WHITMORE
AVIATION...BAUCK
Lightning, Flathead
- When
- May 29, 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Flathead County, 14.5 mi W of Whitefish
- Injuries
- 0 direct, 2 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 48.420, -114.646
Two firefighters, a 25 year old woman and a 29 year old man, members of the Flahtead National Forest were struck by lightning while finishing up a mop up of a prescribed burn west of Whitefish, MT and heading back to their vehicles. The lightning directly hit two nearby trees and injuried the firefighters. The two firefighters were taken to the hospital and listed as in stable condition.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 29 to 30, 2008$15 million · EF3 · 25 events
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Iowa, May 29 to 30, 200811 injured · $3.0 million · EF2 · 70 events
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Nebraska, May 29 to 30, 20085 injured · $27 million · EF2 · 46 events
- Tornado in Kansas, May 29, 2008$1.0 million · EF3 · 1 event
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Nebraska, May 29 to 31, 2008$4.3 million · EF2 · 57 events
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in South Dakota, May 29, 2008$370,000 · EF1 · 18 events
- Wildfire in Florida, May 29 to 31, 2008$850,000 · 1 event
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, May 29, 2008$55,000 · EF0 · 43 events
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 29, 2008$185,000 · 53 kt wind · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, May 29, 2008$150,000 · 1 event
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Nebraska, May 29, 2008$44,000 · EF0 · 26 events
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Iowa, May 29 to 31, 2008EF1 · 17 events
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: 95650.