Hail, Powder River
- When
- July 7, 6:30 PM MST
- Where
- Powder River County, 0.49 mi E of Biddle
- Measured
- 1.25 in hail
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 45.100, -105.340
Hail in Montana, July 7, 2018
An isolated thunderstorm over portions of southeast Montana produced some severe hail.
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
- 2
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 BYZ wrote it up.
An isolated thunderstorm over portions of southeast Montana produced some severe hail.
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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 7, 1:58 PM MST, 4 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 1:58 PM MST, 4 hours 32 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Billings MT
258 PM MDT Sat Jul 7 2018
.SHORT TERM...valid for Sun and Mon...
Southwest flow aloft that is weakly anticyclonic curved will be
the prevailing weather into Monday. Pattern is a bit transitory
with the ridge weakly strengthening from time to time in between
subtle disturbances. Relatively weak surface wind fields at the
lower levels of the atmosphere is prevailing north and east which
will support an increase in the lower level moisture. This will
support convective chances through the period but surface to 500mb
lapse raters are not real strong. For Sunday expect sparse
convection but on Monday a low level jet begins to organize
over southeast Montana to support a better chance for evening
thunderstorms. Temperatures near normal on Sunday and a bit above
normal Monday. borsum
.LONG TERM...valid for Tue...Wed...Thu...Fri...Sat...
Little in the way of changes for the extended forecast, with upper
level ridge in control over the region. Ridging will support
seasonal to above normal temperatures across the region, but
pattern does continue to look dirty, with pieces of energy and
pockets of monsoonal moisture riding through the flow.
Forecast guidance did come in a bit cooler today, so did lower
temps slightly through the bulk of the period. Tuesday still
appears to be warmest, but currently appears to remain below
century mark in most locations. Tuesday and Tuesday night will
also be best potential for precip, as a Pacific trof moves
through the area. That said, pockets of monsoon moisture working
up from the SW US will allow for periods of precip, especially
over the higher terrain. Have kept grid generally dry, due to
minimal continued uncertainty in timing, strength, and location.
AAG
&&
.AVIATION...
VFR conditions are expect over the next 24 hours. A few
thunderstorms are possible this evening. Best potential for
storms will be in extreme southeast Montana, and in high terrain.
AAG
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 062/090 063/093 069/097 063/085 060/090 062/092 060/083
11/U 21/U 21/B 21/U 11/U 11/U 11/U
LVM 056/088 056/093 062/092 055/083 051/088 053/090 052/081
22/T 11/U 22/T 31/U 11/U 11/U 11/U
HDN 062/092 064/096 069/099 063/087 059/091 061/093 059/084
10/U 21/U 11/B 21/U 11/U 11/U 01/U
MLS 064/092 067/095 070/098 066/086 060/089 063/092 060/083
10/U 32/T 21/B 21/U 11/U 11/U 01/U
4BQ 065/092 067/095 069/099 065/088 060/089 062/095 059/085
20/U 21/U 31/U 21/U 11/U 11/U 01/U
BHK 064/090 064/089 065/096 064/085 057/086 060/089 058/081
20/U 45/T 31/N 20/U 11/U 11/U 01/U
SHR 061/091 064/095 066/098 061/085 056/087 057/090 055/083
21/U 22/T 31/B 31/B 21/B 11/U 01/B
&&
.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...None.
WY...None.
&&
weather.gov/billingsThe radar
The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 226 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:28 UTC.
Event by event
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Carter
- When
- July 7, 7:38 PM MST
- Where
- Carter County, 12.41 mi WNW of Alzada
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 45.110, -104.640
What these are
- 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
- High Surf in North Carolina, July 7, 2018
- Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 7 to 8, 2018
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, July 7, 2018
- Lightning Strikes in South Carolina, July 7, 2018
- Damaging Wind in Texas, July 7, 2018
- Flash Flooding and Dust Storm in Arizona, July 7 to 9, 2018
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 7 to 8, 2018
- Flood and Heavy Rain in Florida, July 7, 2018
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in California, July 7 to 9, 2018
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, July 7, 2018
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, July 7, 2018
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, July 7 to 9, 2018
More
Every storm in Montana in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 2018
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: 762262, 762263.