F1 tornado, Baker, Montana, July 25, 2001

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

July 25, 2001

Touchdown

7:50 PM MDT (01:50 UTC)

Path length

2.0 miles (3.2 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Fallon County

Touchdown point

46.450, -104.170

Lift-off point

46.450, -104.170

Record number

1030

NWS Post-Storm Damage Assessment Team determined F2 tornado 200 yards wide with a path length of 2 miles. It was on the ground for 15 minutes over open range west of State Highway 7.

NWS Post-Storm Damage Assessment Team determined F1 tornado 100 yards wide with a path length of 3/4 of a mile and was on the ground for 5 minutes. Around 6:45 p.m. on July 25th...a supercell thunderstorm developed in Prairie County, Montana and moved southeast into Fallon County inside the WFO Billings County Warning Area. A WFO Billings Post-Storm Damage Assessment Team confirmed that an F2 tornado occurred 13 miles north of Baker, Montana in Fallon County at 7:20 p.m. on July 25, 2001. The tornado moved in a nearly north to south direction and remained just west of Montana Highway 7. The tornado was 200 yards wide, 2 miles long, and was on the ground for approximately 15 minutes. The tornado remained over open range while on the ground and caused no property damage. F2 tornadoes produce wind speeds from 113 to 157 mph. A second tornado developed after the first tornado dissipated. This second tornado occurred 8 miles northeast of Baker, Montana in Fallon County at 7:50 p.m. on July 25, 2001. The tornado moved in a northwest to southeast direction and was located near Johnny Creek. The tornado was 100 yards wide, 3/4 of a mile long, and was on the ground for approximately 5 minutes. The tornado remained over open range while on the ground and caused no property damage. F1 tornadoes produce wind speeds from 73 to 112 mph.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

5 minutes of warning. NWS BYZ issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:45 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:40 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 00:52 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Baker (BHK), 13 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in MontanaEvery tornado in Montana since 1950Warnings in force in Montana nowThe forecast where you are

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.