Thunderstorm Wind, Hill
- When
- May 30, 3:30 PM MST
- Where
- Hill County, 8 mi NE of Rocky Boy
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 48.312, -109.657
Thunderstorm produced 60 mph wind gust at Rocky Boy 8NE.
Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, May 30, 2008
Severe thunderstorms developed along the Hi-Line and over portions of Southwest Montana during the afternoon hours of the 30th. Wind gusts to 60 mph were reported.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms developed along the Hi-Line and over portions of Southwest Montana during the afternoon hours of the 30th. Wind gusts to 60 mph were reported.
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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 30, 1:56 PM MST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 30, 1:56 PM MST, 1 hour 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 256 PM MDT FRI MAY 30 2008 .DISCUSSION... TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY...AN UNSETTLED UPPER LEVEL PATTERN WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE REGION DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...WITH A QUASI STATIONARY CLOSED LOW PRESSURE CIRCULATION LOCATED OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST. TONIGHT...WEAK ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY AND LIMITED LOW AND MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL ALLOW SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE THRU MIDNIGHT. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE IS ANTICIPATED TO DEVELOP OVER THE FORECAST AREA AND DRY OUT THE LOWER LEVELS DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE OVERNIGHT. BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...THE NEXT WAVE OF INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK STORM SYSTEM EMBEDDED WITHIN THE FLOW AROUND THE CLOSED LOW TO THE WEST WILL BRING INCREASED PRECIPITATION CHANCES TO MAINLY SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. BY EARLY SUNDAY...THE CLOSED LOW IS ANTICIPATED TO SLOWLY DRIFT INLAND AND APPROACH THE FORECAST AREA. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE DAY ON SUNDAY...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THROUGHOUT THE SHORT TERM FORECAST PERIODS...AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR THE SEASONAL AVERAGE...WITH OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES REMAINING ABOVE THE SEASONAL AVERAGE. FLOODING CONCERNS RELATED TO RECENT HEAVY RAINS HAVE DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS...HOWEVER THUNDERSTORMS THIS WEEKEND HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CREATE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING WITH CONTINUED HIGH RIVER LEVELS AND SATURATED SOILS. ZUMPFE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...TYPICAL SPRING PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD. UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL BE THE RULE AS A SERIES OF UPPER LOWS MOVE ACROSS THE AREA BRINGING THE POSSIBILITY OF AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. THE MOST ENERGETIC PERIOD LOOKS TO BE MONDAY AS AN UPPER LOW MOVES ACROSS THE AREA AND OPENS INTO A BROAD UPPER TROF. TEMPERATURES DURING THE PERIOD WILL REMAIN SLIGHTLY BELOW SEASONAL AVERAGES. THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...LATEST MODELS INDICATE AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO MOVES THROUGH MID WEEK. AN UNSETTLED WESTERLY FLOW DEVELOPS BY THURSDAY SO CONTINUED WITH CLIMO POPS THROUGH THE PERIOD AND KEPT TEMPERATURES NEAR NORMAL. SAUCIER && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1717Z. A MOIST SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA. THE AIRMASS WILL DESTABILIZE DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS BEFORE ENDING BY 04Z. VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL WITH MVFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN THE VICINITY OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 46 74 49 70 / 30 20 20 40 CTB 45 73 48 68 / 20 20 20 40 HLN 48 76 50 71 / 30 30 30 50 BZN 43 72 46 72 / 30 20 30 40 WEY 36 64 38 65 / 30 20 20 40 DLN 42 70 46 67 / 30 20 30 30 HVR 48 78 50 75 / 30 20 20 40 LWT 43 71 45 69 / 40 20 30 40 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...ZUMPFE LONG TERM...EMANUEL/SAUCIER AVIATION...ZELZER WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 8:04 AM MST, 7 hours 26 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 904 AM MDT FRI MAY 30 2008 MTZ008>015-044>055-311200- 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- 904 AM MDT FRI MAY 30 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA INTO 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 radar
The Great Falls radar (KTFX), 160 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:30 UTC.
Event by event
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Chouteau
- When
- May 30, 3:35 PM MST
- Where
- Chouteau County, 13 mi SSW of Iliad
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 47.626, -109.887
A thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Iliad 13SSW.
Hail, Lewis and Clark
- When
- May 30, 6:16 PM MST
- Where
- Lewis and Clark County, 6 mi NE of Helena
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 46.641, -111.941
A thunderstorm dropped 1 inch diameter hail at Helena 6NE.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Indiana, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 30, 2008
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 30, 2008
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Illinois, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 30, 2008
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Missouri, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Flooding in Iowa, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, May 30, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 30 to 31, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 30, 2008
More
Every storm in Montana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, May 2008
Sources
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: 93560, 93561, 93562.