Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, August 7, 2025

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, August 7, 2025
Start: 2025-08-07T15:20
End: 2025-08-07T19:36
Location: Montana

August 7, 2025 · NWS BYZ · 30 events in 7 counties and zones

75 inches. This event caused medium sized tree limbs to be snapped off, and caused extensive damage around Billings.

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: 30

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.

Many thunderstorms occurred across southeast MT, producing gusts up to 79 mph and hail sizes up to 1.75 inches. This event caused medium sized tree limbs to be snapped off, and caused extensive damage around Billings.

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 Aug 7, 3:00 PM MST, 20 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms late this afternoon into Friday morning. Keep alert! Some storms could become strong to severe.
Cooler Friday and Saturday with temperatures in the 70s to low 80s F.
Breezy conditions Friday and Saturday with locations along the western foothills and Dakotas border having a 40-80% chance of getting a wind gust over 40 mph.
Mostly dry with a warming trend to start next week.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 7, 3:00 PM MST, 20 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion...Updated
National Weather Service Billings MT
400 PM MDT Thu Aug 7 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms late this afternoon
  into Friday morning. Keep alert! Some storms could become strong
  to severe.

- Cooler Friday and Saturday with temperatures in the 70s to low
  80s F.

- Breezy conditions Friday and Saturday with locations along the
  western foothills and Dakotas border having a 40-80% chance of
  getting a wind gust over 40 mph.

- Mostly dry with a warming trend to start next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Through Saturday Night...

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue through the
overnight tonight, especially for locations near the Dakotas
border. All hazards types including strong wind gusts, large hail,
and tornados are possible.

Continued cold air advection overnight will lead to high
temperatures 10-15 degrees cooler for Friday. Temperatures warm
about 5 degrees Saturday from the 70s F Friday to the 70s to low
80s F. The upper level low will bring descent and a tight
pressure gradient leading to westerly 700 mb winds of 40-50 kts.
The NBM is currently giving locations along the western foothills
a 50-80% chance of getting a wind gust over 40 mph with 0-30%
chances for locations over the plains Friday. Saturday will see
the best chances from northern Rosebud to Carter counties where
there are 40-80% chances for a gust over 40 mph.

Models are indicating that drier air will begin to move into the
region late Friday morning into afternoon, which, when combined
with upper descent, is expected to decrease and eventually end
precipitation chances. The return of upper ascent and wrap around
moisture during the afternoon Saturday will bring additional
chances for showers to northeast Montana. Ensembles are currently
keeping these chances out of our region, but this is a pattern
that likes to over achieve so it can't be ruled out for our area.

Torgerson

Sunday through Thursday...

Some lingering energy moving through the upper level flow may be
enough for a few afternoon/evening showers and thunderstorms
Sunday. However, atmospheric moisture is near normal at this time,
with PWATs around 0.5-0.8", which will limit the potential.
Currently, the NBM has a less than 15% chance of precipitation
across the region, but this may change if a better wave of energy
or higher moisture moves in.

Conditions will then remain mostly dry with increasing
temperatures through midweek. Then, a pattern change to cooler and
unsettled is expected as a trough sets up over the Pacific
Northwest and sends weak disturbances and additional moisture to
the region. The exact details remain uncertain at this time, so
stay tuned to the forecast.

High temperatures will increase from the 80s Sunday to upper 80s
to low 90s Monday and Tuesday. Then, as the pattern becomes more
unsettled, temperatures will fall back into the 80s for the second
half of the week. Archer

&&

.AVIATION...

Thunderstorm chances will continue this evening for all TAF sites
(20-40%). By 09Z tonight, thunderstorms will have exited most of
the region, only continuing for sites near the Dakotas border such
as KBHK. Friday will see isolated precipitation chances with
locations near mountains having the best chances (10-30%). Winds
will increase for the western foothills Friday afternoon with
persistent gusts into the 30s mph. Torgerson

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...

    Tdy Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue     Wed
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 086 057/076 056/081 055/084 058/090 061/092 060/087
    3/T 32/W    11/U    01/U    00/U    00/U    11/U
LVM 083 044/073 046/078 047/082 051/089 053/091 053/086
    7/T 62/W    10/U    11/U    00/U    00/U    11/U
HDN 088 057/076 054/081 053/085 056/090 058/093 059/088
    2/T 51/B    10/U    01/U    10/U    00/U    11/U
MLS 089 061/076 058/078 055/084 058/090 060/091 060/086
    1/U 52/T    11/N    01/U    10/U    10/U    11/U
4BQ 089 061/075 055/079 055/082 059/087 061/091 061/088
    0/U 32/T    10/U    00/U    10/U    10/U    10/U
BHK 090 059/076 054/075 052/082 056/088 058/089 058/086
    0/U 42/T    11/N    01/U    10/U    10/U    10/U
SHR 089 055/074 048/079 050/082 053/087 055/091 057/088
    1/B 33/T    00/U    00/U    10/U    00/U    01/U

&&

.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...Severe Thunderstorm Watch 575 in effect until 11 PM MDT this
      evening FOR ZONES 29>33-36-37-57-58-138-139-169-171-173-235.
WY...None.

&&

weather.gov/billings

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 7, 3:06 PM MST, 14 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings MT
406 PM MDT Thu Aug 7 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0359 PM     Hail             10 NNE Nye              45.59N 109.75W
08/07/2025  E0.25 Inch       Sweet Grass        MT   Trained Spotter

&&

Local storm report, Aug 7, 3:14 PM MST, 6 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings MT
414 PM MDT Thu Aug 7 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0336 PM     Hail             7 ESE Livingston        45.64N 110.43W
08/07/2025  E0.25 Inch       Park               MT   Cocorahs

&&

The radar

The Billings radar (KBLX), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:21 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Stillwater

When: August 7, 3:20 PM MST
Where: Stillwater County, 6.51 mi SSW of Molt
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.780, -108.970

Large hail lasted 10 minutes.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:22 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 8.16 mi NNW of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.840

Hail report by local spotter.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:28 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 6.24 mi NNW of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.780, -108.810

Corrects previous hail report from location at 8 nnw Laurel.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:30 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 0.69 mi S of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.790, -108.530

Reported via phone call from the public.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:33 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 6.24 mi NNW of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.780, -108.810

Hail report by local spotter.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:33 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 8.35 mi N of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.820, -108.770

Corrects previous hail report from 8 ESE Molt. Came from facebook comment.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:38 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 5.82 mi W of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.790, -108.650

Corrects previous hail report from 6 W Billings. From Facebook comment.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:39 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 7.49 mi NNE of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.690

Report given by local spotter.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:39 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 4.82 mi W of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.630

Corrects previous hail report from 4 W Billings. Some hail drifts were also reported.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:46 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 4.82 mi W of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.630

Hail drifts also reported.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:46 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 1.19 mi SW of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.790, -108.550

Corrects previous hail report from 1 wnw of Billings.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:49 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 0.96 mi W of Billings
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.500

Corrects previous hail report from 2 ene of Billings.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:50 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 0.96 mi W of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.550

Report from mping.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 3:52 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 1.19 mi SW of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.790, -108.550

Reported via phone call from the public.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 0.69 mi S of Shepherd
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.940, -108.350

Corrects previous hail report from Shepherd. From facebook comment.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 4:14 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 5.82 mi W of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.790, -108.650

From fcebook comment.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 4:16 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 2.41 mi W of Billings Logan Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 45.800, -108.580

Also received 0.12 in rain.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 4:20 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 8.35 mi N of Laurel Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.820, -108.770

From facebook comment.

Hail, Yellowstone

When: August 7, 4:52 PM MST
Where: Yellowstone County, 0.69 mi S of Shepherd
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.940, -108.350

From facebook comment.

Hail, Big Horn

When: August 7, 5:00 PM MST
Where: Big Horn County, 1.93 mi W of Hardin Airpark
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.720, -107.640

Reported from local spotter.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rosebud

When: August 7, 5:00 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 1.42 mi W of Ingomar
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.580, -107.400

Mesonet station mting at 1.6 W Ingomar.

Hail, Big Horn

When: August 7, 5:05 PM MST
Where: Big Horn County, 0.96 mi W of Hardin
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.730, -107.620

From phone call.

Thunderstorm Wind, Treasure

When: August 7, 5:10 PM MST
Where: Treasure County, 21.47 mi S of Sarpy Jct
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 45.960, -107.090

Reported via mesonet weather station.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rosebud

When: August 7, 5:35 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 0.96 mi W of Forsyth Arpt
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 46.270, -106.620

From weather station near Forsyth.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rosebud

When: August 7, 5:39 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 2.52 mi NW of Forsyth
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.300, -106.700

Mesonet station ew1247 located near Forsyth.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rosebud

When: August 7, 5:40 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 5.04 mi NNW of Forsyth
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.340, -106.700

Reported 3 inch tree limbs downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rosebud

When: August 7, 5:45 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 5.25 mi W of Hathaway
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 46.270, -106.310

From montana dot weather station.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rosebud

When: August 7, 5:59 PM MST
Where: Rosebud County, 13.83 mi N of Brandenberg
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.030, -106.190

Mesonet station mccm8 at Cow Creek.

Thunderstorm Wind, Custer

When: August 7, 6:15 PM MST
Where: Custer County, Miles City Arpt
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 46.430, -105.880

From airport asos station kmls at Miles City.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fallon

When: August 7, 7:36 PM MST
Where: Fallon County, 1.38 mi S of Baker Arpt
Measured: 69 kt (79 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 46.350, -104.250

Corrects the time on previous tstm wnd gst report from 1 SE Baker. asos station kbhk Baker.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2025 Every state in 2025 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, August 2025

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: 1293286, 1293287, 1293290, 1293291, 1293288, 1293289, 1293297, 1293292, 1293298, 1293293, 1293299, 1293296, 1293295, 1293294, 1293312, 1293303, 1293300, 1293301, 1293302, 1293304, 1293305, 1293307, 1293306, 1293308, 1293309, 1293311, 1293310, 1293314, 1293313, 1293316.