Just enough marginal instability and moisture was present to allow a lone severe thunderstorm to develop a produce damaging downslope winds through southern Phillips County.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 GGW wrote it up.
Just enough marginal instability and moisture was present to allow a lone severe thunderstorm to develop a produce damaging downslope winds through southern Phillips County.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 26, 7:40 PM MST, 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service GLASGOW MT 840 PM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016 .SHORT TERM...for northeast Montana...tonight through Thu... Update... Added small hail, gusty wind and heavy rain to the ongoing forecast based on the history of the line of storms moving into the region. No other updates made to the forecast at this time. Proton Previous Discussion...Unsettled conditions expected to continue through this period. Convection firing up over the northern/canadian rockies this afternoon is next item being watched this afternoon. This area is expected to drift east into the cwa later tonight. Severe thunderstorms are not expected and most of the strong storms should stay over central Montana. The next couple of days will be unsettled as low pressure to our south will lock in the humidity with an easterly upslope flow into the higher terrain to our west. Upper disturbances and/or daytime convection off the higher terrain should help in generating showers/thunderstorms each day. Any strong thunderstorms should mainly stay west and south of the CWA. Daytime temperatures as a result will be about 5 to 10 degrees below normal. TFJ .LONG TERM...Thu night through Tue... The going forecast as described below stands, no noteworthy changes were made. Considerable model differences exist for next weeks trough...thus confidence in the overall forecast for this time is low. Gilchrist Previous long term discussion...The extended period begins Thursday evening with northwest flow aloft over Northeast Montana. This flow pattern is based on the area of persistent high pressure and hot desert air over the Southwest and the large eastern Canada trough anchored by the Hudson Bay low. This places the local area near the boundary between the two air masses. Thus, the frequent weak short-waves and embedded disturbance will find enough instability to kick off isolated to scattered thunderstorms. Conditions begin to change for the weekend when the ridge moves east over eastern Montana. This push is caused by a deepening trough off the Pac-NW and BC coast. Thickness heights ramp up and upper flow backs around to the southwest. Weekend temperatures become hot again. By the end of the weekend the Pac-NW trough sends a cold front across the Divide. This will lead to more chances for storms and possibly cooler temperatures by mid-week. Templer && .AVIATION... VFR conditions will prevail. However, scattered showers and thunderstorms at times will be accompanied by MVFR to IFR vsbys and mid level ceilings. Some storms may produce gusty and erratic winds and small hail. Prevailing winds will be from the east at 5 to 15 kts. Maliawco && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && weather.gov/glasgow
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 310 AM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016 MTZ016>027-059>062-270915- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY- DANIELS-SHERIDAN-WESTERN ROOSEVELT-PETROLEUM-GARFIELD-MCCONE- RICHLAND-DAWSON-PRAIRIE-WIBAUX-NORTHERN PHILLIPS- SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS-NORTHERN VALLEY-EASTERN ROOSEVELT- 310 AM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE ARE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON WEDNESDAY... THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. A FEW STORMS ON WEDNESDAY MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
843 PM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016
MTZ016-021-060-270345-
SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS MT-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS MT-PETROLEUM MT-
843 PM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WESTERN GARFIELD...NORTHERN
PETROLEUM AND SOUTHWESTERN PHILLIPS COUNTIES UNTIL 945 PM MDT...
AT 842 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 21
MILES NORTHEAST OF WINIFRED...OR 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
ZORTMAN...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.
HALF INCH HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
ZORTMAN...CROOKED CREEK REC AREA...U L BEND REC AREA...FOURCHETTE...
PHILLIPS...LANDUSKY AND FRED ROBINSON BRIDGE.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 10 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.
PERSONS IN CAMPGROUNDS SHOULD CONSIDER SEEKING STURDY SHELTER UNTIL
THIS STORM PASSES.
&&
LAT...LON 4792 10889 4792 10863 4799 10861 4798 10844
4814 10843 4811 10778 4755 10779 4744 10792
4729 10796 4729 10795 4711 10816 4710 10872
4711 10874 4727 10872 4732 10831 4758 10831
4757 10833 4764 10877 4773 10889
TIME...MOT...LOC 0242Z 271DEG 24KT 4776 10901
PROTONSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
926 PM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016
MTZ016-017-059-061-270430-
NORTHERN PHILLIPS MT-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY MT-
NORTHERN VALLEY MT-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS MT-
926 PM MDT TUE JUL 26 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN VALLEY AND
NORTHEASTERN PHILLIPS COUNTIES UNTIL 1030 PM MDT...
AT 926 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 13
MILES NORTHWEST OF DODSON...OR 28 MILES NORTHWEST OF MALTA...MOVING
EAST AT 50 MPH.
HALF INCH HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
MALTA...WHITEWATER...SACO...DODSON...LORING...PORT OF MORGAN...
HINSDALE...WAGNER...BOWDOIN...FRENCHMAN RESERVOIR...
CHAPMAN AND SLEEPING BUFFALO.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 10 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE
SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE.
&&
LAT...LON 4900 10718 4846 10692 4807 10741 4812 10843
4845 10841 4843 10836 4874 10832 4875 10826
4900 10824
TIME...MOT...LOC 0326Z 271DEG 41KT 4853 10844
PROTONThe Glasgow radar (KGGW), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:33 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Malta South US-191 DOT station measured a 62 mph wind gust.
The Malta South US-191 DOT station measured another 62 mph wind gust.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 2016
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: 652040, 652042.