The 2010 Billings Tornado - A Year Later
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The 2010 Billings Tornado - A Year Later
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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
737 AM MDT MON JUN 20 2011
..THE 2010 BILLINGS TORNADO...A YEAR LATER...
TODAY MARKS THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE 2010 BILLINGS
TORNADO...WHICH OCCURRED ON FATHERS DAY. HERE ARE SOME FACTS
REGARDING THE HISTORIC EVENT.
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED AROUND THE REGION DURING THE AFTERNOON OF
JUNE 20TH 2010. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM FORMED QUICKLY NEAR
BILLINGS...AND THE TORNADO SPUN UP OVER THE BILLINGS HEIGHTS AT
APPROXIMATELY 424 PM. THE TORNADO CAUSED DAMAGE TO SEVERAL
BUSINESSES ALONG AND NEAR MAIN STREET...INCLUDING SEVERE DAMAGE TO
THE METRAPARK ARENA. FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO DEATHS AS A RESULT
OF THIS STORM.
BASED ON THE OBSERVED DAMAGE...THE TORNADO WAS CLASSIFIED AS AN
EF-2 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. WIND SPEEDS WITHIN AN EF-2
TORNADO RANGE FROM 111-135 MPH...AND THE ASSOCIATED DAMAGE
OBSERVED AT THE BILLINGS METRAPARK AND NEARBY BUSINESSES WAS
CONSISTENT WITH THIS CLASSIFICATION.
ESTIMATES INDICATED THAT THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR ABOUT
12 MINUTES...WITH A PATH LENGTH AT AROUND A HALF MILE BEFORE
DISSIPATING. THE ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORM THEN MOVED NORTHEAST OF
BILLINGS. NUMEROUS FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE REPORTED AS THIS STORM MOVED
AWAY FROM THE CITY...HOWEVER NO ADDITIONAL TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS WERE
REPORTED.
IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCED HAIL
UP TO GOLF BALL SIZE IN BILLINGS HEIGHTS. OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN
FELL AT THE BILLINGS AIRPORT IN ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF. THE VERY
HEAVY RAIN RESULTED IN FLASH FLOODING IN THE CITY.
A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AROUND THE REGION TODAY...BUT
THEY WILL NOT BE SEVERE. THUS THERE WILL NOT BE A REPEAT OF THE
2010 TORNADIC EVENT ON THIS DATE.
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