Our starting point was in Glendive, MT, and we needed to head west about 3-4 hours. Lewistown, MT, was our intended target, so we ate lunch at Harry's Place when we arrived. They were very happy to accommodate our large group, and they were quite friendly. We lounged on their outdoor patio area after lunch and decided to head west out of town to monitor any potential storm development. There was a rest/camp area about a mile out of town, so we lingered there for a while. Patience would be key today, because the road network was very sparse. If we got suckered on an early storm, our chances of being in position for a play later in the day would go down the drain. There were a couple storms to our north, but chasing them would not be possible due to the aforementioned road network. While we were waiting, we decided to stop at a convenience store for ice cream, and that seemed to do the trick. A very nice storm went up, and we were able to intercept it near Moccasin, MT. As we were following it to east of Roy, MT, it gave us multiple wall clouds and came close to producing a tornado. It was difficult at times to see the base, because there were lots of hills in this area. When that storm began turning into an outflow producer, we latched onto another one that had awesome structure. We stopped along the road to watch the storm approach us, and the shelf cloud was very picturesque. As we were taking pictures, outflow from other storms came through and drastically reduced the air temperature. We followed the storm into Roy, MT and stopped near what appeared to be an abandoned fueling station. A few of the guests needed an emergency pit stop, and tree cover would be the perfect place to do it. After milling about and watching the storm, we herded the guests back into the vans and got blasted with wet RFD winds as we were leaving. Along the way, the tour guide noticed a circulation in a field next to us, so we were wondering if that was a weak tornado. After we emerged from the RFD winds, reports started coming in of a rain-wrapped tornado very close to the area we were in. Damage reports also began coming through, so we returned to the scene of the crime. Golf ball sized hail was also present, and we noticed some damage to the buildings. One of the walls was bent outward, and multiple branches were snapped. In addition, a signpost was snapped at the base. After poking around, we decided to start our drive to Billings, where our motel was. Total mileage for the day was 525 miles.
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| Moccasin, MT |
Our starting point was in Glendive, MT, and we needed to head west about 3-4 hours. Lewistown, MT, was our intended target, so we ate lunch at Harry's Place when we arrived. They were very happy to accommodate our large group, and they were quite friendly. We lounged on their outdoor patio area after lunch and decided to head west out of town to monitor any potential storm development. There was a rest/camp area about a mile out of town, so we lingered there for a while. Patience would be key today, because the road network was very sparse. If we got suckered on an early storm, our chances of being in position for a play later in the day would go down the drain. There were a couple storms to our north, but chasing them would not be possible due to the aforementioned road network. While we were waiting, we decided to stop at a convenience store for ice cream, and that seemed to do the trick. A very nice storm went up, and we were able to intercept it near Moccasin, MT. As we were following it to east of Roy, MT, it gave us multiple wall clouds and came close to producing a tornado. It was difficult at times to see the base, because there were lots of hills in this area. When that storm began turning into an outflow producer, we latched onto another one that had awesome structure. We stopped along the road to watch the storm approach us, and the shelf cloud was very picturesque. As we were taking pictures, outflow from other storms came through and drastically reduced the air temperature. We followed the storm into Roy, MT and stopped near what appeared to be an abandoned fueling station. A few of the guests needed an emergency pit stop, and tree cover would be the perfect place to do it. After milling about and watching the storm, we herded the guests back into the vans and got blasted with wet RFD winds as we were leaving. Along the way, the tour guide noticed a circulation in a field next to us, so we were wondering if that was a weak tornado. After we emerged from the RFD winds, reports started coming in of a rain-wrapped tornado very close to the area we were in. Damage reports also began coming through, so we returned to the scene of the crime. Golf ball sized hail was also present, and we noticed some damage to the buildings. One of the walls was bent outward, and multiple branches were snapped. In addition, a signpost was snapped at the base. After poking around, we decided to start our drive to Billings, where our motel was. Total mileage for the day was 525 miles.
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