A tornado briefly touched down overnight in Carter County damaging several buildings but harming no people or animals, according to the National Weather Service in Billings.
Just before 12:45 a.m. a tornado formed about 4 miles northeast of Ridgeway. The twister was about 50 yards wide and was on the ground for nearly 200 yards.
The tornado was classified as an EF-1, with wind gusts of about 86 to 110 mph, said NWS.
Locals near Ridgeway did report some damage from the tornado. Several buildings on a local ranch had “considerable damage,” according to NWS. A shop building had two doors blown out and roof damage, and several metal shed rooftops were torn off and peeled back.
A garage was destroyed by the tornado, and the car inside was carried and displaced.
Several trees were snapped or uprooted in the area, NWS said. No injuries to animals or humans were reported.
This is the second tornado to touch down in Montana this year. In June a tornado briefly formed in Central Montana near Harlowton during a bout of bad thunderstorms.
Despite the tornado, much of the state had little to no severe weather on Thursday, and Friday night’s forecast looked to be similar. There were no storm warnings or outlooks issued Friday night by 8 p.m. for Montana by NWS.
by Billings Gazette (2019, July 19)
