Montana, 2017Drought in Montana, July 1 to 31, 2017
July 1 to 31, 2017 · NWS GGW · 15 events in 15 counties and zones
As the summer season came into full swing, the dominant ridge of high pressure over the western states persisted and perpetuated severe to exceptional drought conditions across all of northeast Montana. Any storms were simply too few and far between to offer any significant relief.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 15
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.
As the summer season came into full swing, the dominant ridge of high pressure over the western states persisted and perpetuated severe to exceptional drought conditions across all of northeast Montana. Any storms were simply too few and far between to offer any significant relief. Widespread D2 - severe drought conditions to start the month were eventually replaced by widespread D3 - extreme drought conditions with D4 - exceptional drought conditions in place generally near and north of the Missouri River Valley.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 7:40 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 30, 7:40 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
840 PM MDT Fri Jun 30 2017
.SHORT TERM...for northeast Montana...tonight through Sun...
9PM UPDATE:
The forecast is on track and and not changes expected this update
period. Proton
6PM UPDATE:
Very minor changes to the on going forecast this evening. Radar
shows some very light precipitation moving in from western
Saskatchewan otherwise most of the area will remain dry tonight.
Proton
Previous Discussion:
With a ridge of high pressure building into the region from the
west, the weather for NE Montana will shift to a warmer and drier
pattern. The exiting Canadian Plains low pressure system could
still sneak a few rain showers over our far NE corner zone late
tonight, but should be minimal if any at all, based on best model
consensus.
Saturday, NW flow aloft prevails with just a few rain showers if
any at all confined outside of our CWA. Warming temperatures
continue, especially over our SW zones.
BMickelson
.LONG TERM...Sun night through Fri...
Afternoon update: The discussion as described below largely stands.
The weak disturbance on Sunday could still bring isolated mainly
dry thunderstorms, which will need to be watched given the
drought. Hot and dry conditions rule for next week. Gilchrist
Previous long term discussion: A shortwave trough moves through
Eastern Montana Sunday afternoon and evening. Models are now
pointing towards little or no precipitation with this system.
It looks like an upper ridge will build over Montana on Monday
and become stronger by the middle of the week. An upper level high
will develop by Wednesday over the Central and Southern Rockies.
It looks like a hot and mainly dry period for Northeast Montana
with highs mainly in the 90s. Models at times want to bring weak
waves over the top of the ridge which may touch off a few
thunderstorms. Will hold off on mentioning any storms in the
forecast as models differ in timing the convection.
Forrester
&&
.AVIATION...
Synopsis: The exiting Canadian Prairie low pressure system
will push some scattered clouds over NE Montana today, then more
tonight from the north with a few isolated rain showers, which
may pass near KSDY after 03Z.
Flight Conditions: Widespread VFR.
Winds: From the west up to 10 kts, becoming light and variable
tonight.
BMickelson
&&
.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&
weather.gov/glasgow
Drought, Sheridan
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Sheridan forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The month of July began with Sheridan County already in a state of extreme (D3) drought. Dry conditions persisted and the drought worsened to exceptional (D4) by July 18th. Areas throughout the county received generally less than a quarter of an inch of rainfall, which is over 2 inches below average.
Drought, Daniels
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Daniels forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Daniels County entered July already in a state of extreme (D3) drought. Dry conditions persisted through the month, and by July 25th the drought had worsened to exceptional (D4) status. Areas in Daniels County received generally less than a quarter of an inch of rainfall, which is approximately one and a half to two inches below normal for the month.
Drought, Central and Southern Valley
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
July began with central and southern Valley County experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. By July 25th, conditions had worsened to exceptional (D4) levels. A little over a half an inch of rain fell across the area in general, which was one to one and a half inches below normal for the month.
Drought, Northern Valley
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Northern Valley County started out July experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. Continued dry weather prompted a degradation to exceptional (D4) drought by July 25th, which persisted through the rest of the month. Average rainfall for the month is approximately between one and two inches, and while isolated areas did receive a little over an inch of rain, most received half an inch or less.
Drought, Central and Se Phillips
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Central and southeast Phillips County entered July already experiencing severe (D2) to extreme (D3) drought conditions. With continued dry weather, exceptional (D4) drought conditions were observed by July 25th. Monthly rainfall amounted to generally less than half an inch, which is approximately one inch below normal.
Drought, Northern Phillips
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Phillips forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Northern Phillips County entered July already experiencing severe (D2) drought conditions. With continued dry weather, extreme (D3) drought conditions were observed by July 11th, which persisted throughout the rest of the month. Monthly rainfall amounted to generally one half of an inch to just over one inch, which is approximately one half of an inch to one inch below normal.
Drought, Petroleum
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Petroleum forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.118, -108.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The month of July began with Petroleum County already experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions, which persisted through the rest of July. Areas across the county received generally between one and two inches of rainfall, and this is one of the few areas across northeast Montana that received near or even slightly above average rainfall for July.
Drought, Garfield
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Garfield forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The month of July began with most of Garfield County already experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. Continued dry weather caused the conditions to degrade to exceptional (D4) drought across northern Garfield County by July 25th. Areas throughout the county received less than a half of an inch of rainfall, with northern Garfield County receiving very little to no rain at all. This is generally one and a half to two inches below average.
Drought, McCone
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- McCone forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
McCone County entered July already experiencing severe (D2) to extreme (D3) drought conditions. Dry weather continued throughout July, and the drought worsened to exceptional (D4) across the most heavily impacted areas of the county. Rainfall amounts were between a quarter and half an inch, which is one and a half and two inches below normal.
Drought, Western Roosevelt
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Western Roosevelt forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Western Roosevelt County entered July already experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. Dry weather continued throughout July, and the drought worsened to exceptional (D4) by July 25th. Rainfall amounts were between a quarter and half an inch, which is one and a half to two inches below normal for the month.
Drought, Eastern Roosevelt
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Eastern Roosevelt County entered July already experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions, which persisted throughout the month. Rainfall amounts were approximately one inch, which is one and a half inches below normal for the month.
Drought, Richland
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Richland County entered July already experiencing severe (D2) to extreme (D3) drought conditions. By the end of the month, the entire county was experiencing extreme (D3) drought. Rainfall amounts were generally between a half of an inch and three quarters of an inch, which is approximately one and a half to two inches below normal for the month.
Drought, Dawson
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Dawson forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dawson County entered July experiencing continued severe (D2) drought conditions. These conditions persisted, with northern portions of Dawson County degrading to extreme (D3) drought conditions by the end on the month. Rainfall totals were generally between one half of an inch to one inch, which is one to two inches below normal for the month.
Drought, Prairie
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Prairie forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 46.861, -105.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Prairie County entered July already experiencing severe (D2) drought conditions. By the end of the month, severe drought persisted and worsened to extreme (D3) over western Prairie County. Rainfall amounts were generally between one half of an inch and one inch, which is over an inch below average for the month.
Drought, Wibaux
- When
- July 1, 12:00 AM MST to July 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Wibaux forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 46.965, -104.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wibaux County entered July experiencing severe (D2) to extreme (D3) drought conditions. By the end of the month, the drought had worsened so that the entire county was experiencing extreme (D3) drought conditions. Rainfall amounts were between one half of an inch and one inch, which is one and a half to two inches below normal for the month.
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Heat in Nevada, July 1 to 5, 20178 deaths · 1 event
- Rip Currents in Texas, July 1 to 4, 20172 deaths · 2 events
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Texas, July 1, 20171 death · 1 injured · $45,000 · 70 kt wind · 5 events
- Flash Flooding and Flood in New York, July 1 to 2, 2017$19 million · 33 events
- Flash Flooding in New Hampshire, July 1, 2017$12 million · 20 events
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Vermont, July 1, 2017$8.0 million · 50 kt wind · 13 events
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in New York, July 1 to 2, 2017$1.8 million · 50 kt wind · 22 events
- Wildfire in Utah, July 1 to 28, 2017$2.0 million · 1 event
- Flash Flooding in Maine, July 1, 2017$255,000 · 11 events
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 1 to 2, 2017$91,000 · 57 kt wind · 14 events
- Flooding in New Hampshire, July 1 to 2, 2017$115,000 · 4 events
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Maine, July 1, 20171 injured · EF1 · 15 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: 712564, 712565, 712566, 712567, 712569, 712570, 712571, 712572, 712573, 712574, 712575, 712576, 712577, 712578, 712579.