Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, June 1, 2023

Name: Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, June 1, 2023
Start: 2023-06-01T17:47
End: 2023-06-01T20:00
Location: Montana

June 1, 2023 · NWS BYZ · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Isolated thunderstorms produced some hail, but mainly very heavy rain where some flooding occurred across portions of Musselshell County.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 BYZ wrote it up.

Isolated thunderstorms produced some hail, but mainly very heavy rain where some flooding occurred across portions of Musselshell County.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 1, 5:04 PM MST, 43 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jun 1, 5:22 PM MST, 25 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jun 1, 5:29 PM MST, 18 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jun 1, 5:43 PM MST, 4 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jun 1, 5:45 PM MST, 2 minutes before

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The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: June 1, 5:47 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 1.6 mi ESE of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.690, -108.720

Flash Flood, Musselshell

When: June 1, 7:15 PM MST
Where: Musselshell County, 6.48 mi ESE of Klein to 3.83 mi SSE of Gage
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 46.358, -108.409

Some road damage was reported.

Flash Flood, Musselshell

When: June 1, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Musselshell County, 6.48 mi ESE of Klein to 3.83 mi SSE of Gage
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.358, -108.409

East Parrot Creek road was underwater. West Parrot Creek Road and other rural/private roads in the vicinity that contained culverts were nearly washed out.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2023 Every state in 2023 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, June 2023

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1097093, 1097096, 1097097.