Hail — Pondera, Montana

2019-06-14 · near Valier, Pondera, Montana

Event narrative

Pondera County Sheriff relayed a public report of golf ball size hail breaking windows on the north facing side of a home in Valier.

Wider weather episode

The Storm Prediction Center includes a portion of the CWA in a marginal risk area for severe Thunderstorms. A mid-level shortwave trough dives southeastward from British Columbia and Alberta. This trough works with a relatively moisture rich environment producing showers and thunderstorms by early afternoon. This area roughly extends north and east of a Cut Bank to Lewistown line. A few long-lived severe thunderstorms form in an environment containing moderate instability and favorable shear. The storms track east southeastward along and just behind an advancing surface front. Strong storms form along this frontal boundary where daytime heating provides elevated CAPE. With outflow dominance, storms merge into more of a storm cluster as they move eastward.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (48.3100, -112.2500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 836477. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.