A severe thunderstorm produced strong gusty winds that blew down numerous trees near Syringa blocking Highway 12. Heavy rain also brought a 600 pound rock onto Highway 12 near Lowell.
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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 MSO wrote it up.
A severe thunderstorm produced strong gusty winds that blew down numerous trees near Syringa blocking Highway 12. Heavy rain also brought a 600 pound rock onto Highway 12 near Lowell.
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 Jun 5, 12:16 PM PST, 3 hours 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 216 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2009 ...SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EXPECTED IN SOUTHCENTRAL IDAHO AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT... ...MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES TO MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES SATURDAY... .DISCUSSION...COMPLEX PATTERN TODAY AND SATURDAY WITH A VARIETY OF WEATHER EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP IN SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MONTANA. THE BEST CONVERGENCE ZONE FOR NUMEROUS SHOWERS LIES ACROSS SOUTHCENTRAL IDAHO THROUGH SOUTHWEST MONTANA. THIS BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN OVER THIS AREA THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY BEFORE BEING PUSHED SOUTH. THUS SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. A PRETTY JUICY ATMOSPHERE WITH LITTLE SUPPORT FROM WINDS ALOFT WILL PRODUCE SLOW MOVING STORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING...THUS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TODAY COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN. BURNED AREAS AND REGIONS IN STEEP TERRAIN COULD SEE SOME LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING THROUGH LATER THIS EVENING. FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. AT THE SAME TIME A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS FAST APPROACHING NORTHWEST MONTANA. TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENTS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR INCREASING AND GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY. THE SYSTEM IS A LITTLE SLOWER THAN PREVIOUSLY FORECAST THUS THE COLDER AIR IS NOT EXPECTED TO FULLY CROSS THE DIVIDE UNTIL LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. AS IT DOES INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE WILL INCREASE AND PRODUCE RAIN AND HIGHER ELEVATED SNOW SHOWERS. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW OVER MARIAS PASS BUT GIVEN TIMING OF COLDER AIR THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THIS SOLUTION. SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT THE UPPER LOW WILL MOVE INTO MUCH OF WESTERN MONTANA AND GREATLY INFLUENCE THE AREA WITH MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES AND WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION. SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE CIRCULATION OVER SOUTHERN CANADA WILL AFFECT THE REGION SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. WITH ANOTHER LOW MOVING IN FROM CALIFORNIA ON FRIDAY AS THE CANADIAN LOW MOVES OFF TO THE EAST. THESE AREAS OF LOW PRESSURE WILL KEEP WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO UNDER A RATHER MOIST AND COOL WEATHER PATTERN. THERE WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME SHOWERS EACH DAY...WITH AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS. && .AVIATION...CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY HAS BEGUN TO FIRE ACROSS SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO IN A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. WITH LIGHT STEERING WINDS...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SLOW-MOVING AND HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. PONDING WATER ON RUNWAY AND TERMINAL SURFACES COULD BE POSSIBLE WITH THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS IMPACTING KSMN...KBTM. IN ADDITION TO CONVECTION IN THE SOUTH...A LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL BEGIN TO DIVE OUT OF CANADA AND BRING STRONG GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS TO WESTERN MONTANA...IMPACTING KGPI AND KMSO THIS EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS GUSTS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...NONE. ID...NONE. && SHORT TERM...RPN LONG TERM....KOLATA AVIATION...NOLTE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 153 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2009 IDZ006>010-061200- SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION- LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER REGION-WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY- EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY- 153 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2009 /1253 PM PDT FRI JUN 5 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO. FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON WATCHES...WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES...GO TO WEATHER.GOV/MISSOULA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR STRONG AND SLOW-MOVING THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WHICH MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN. STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL STREAM FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN SEVERELY BURNED FOREST AREAS AND IN STEEP TERRAIN. DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS ANTICIPATED DURING SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE AREA. LOCALLIZED HEAVY RAIN MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL STREAM FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN SEVERELY BURNED FOREST AREAS AND IN STEEP TERRAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ002-061200- WEST GLACIER REGION- 153 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT GUSTY NORTH TO EAST WINDS WILL BE DEVELOPING THIS EVENING AS COLDER AIR MOVES OVER THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. WINDS GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE DEVELOPING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN ABOVE 5000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY UPSLOPE SNOW IS EXPECTED ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WITH LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE ABOVE 5000 FEET IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS AND SNOW MAY CAUSE BLOWING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITY OVER MARIAS PASS SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING BEFORE DIMINISHING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ007-061200- BUTTE/BLACKFOOT REGION- 153 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR STRONG AND SLOW-MOVING THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...WHICH MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING POTENTIAL IN SMALL STREAMS NEAR ANACONDA AND THE URBAN AREA OF BUTTE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS ANTICIPATED SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHICH MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING POTENTIAL IMPACTING SMALL STREAMS NEAR ANACONDA AND THE BUTTE AREA. COLDER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT WITH LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE OVER HIGHER TERRAIN AND OVER MCDONALD AND HOMESTAKE PASSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
518 PM MDT FRI JUN 5 2009
IDZ005>007-060000-
NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-SOUTHERN
CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-
418 PM PDT FRI JUN 5 2009
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN CLEARWATER AND
NORTHERN IDAHO COUNTIES UNTIL 500 PM PDT...
AT 414 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
A SERIES OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTING 5 MILES WEST OF
WEIPPE...OR 11 MILES NORTH OF KAMIAH...AND THE CITY OF OROFINO.
HAIL ONE-HALF INCH IN DIAMETER...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...AND WIND GUSTS
UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...EAST KAMIAH...
KOOSKIA...LOWELL...GREER...WOODLAND...PARDEE...GLENWOOD...WINONA...
STITES...SYRINGA AND CLEARWATER.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...GO INDOORS AND STAY
AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...MOVE TO A WELL
PROTECTED AREA.
&&
LAT...LON 4665 11629 4635 11545 4591 11565 4615 11620
4622 11603 4628 11613 4639 11619 4640 11630
4654 11639
TIME...MOT...LOC 2316Z 011DEG 7KT 4639 11604
ALLEGRETTOThe Missoula radar (KMSX), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:52 UTC.
1 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced rock and debris slides onto Highway 12 near Lowell. An estimated 600 pound rock rolled onto Highway 12 west of Lowell.
Trees were blown down from a severe thunderstorm blocking Highway 12 near milepost 86.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, June 2009
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: 171796, 171790.