A fast‑moving storm swept across the eastern plains of Montana on Sunday, unleashing hail that reached the size of baseballs. The sudden onslaught caught farmers and ranchers off guard, turning fields into a hail‑filled battlefield.
Dusty Elmore, who runs a ranch near Ekalaka, described watching the hail grow to the size of mandarin oranges as it hammered her property. "The impact was deafening," she said, recalling how the storm stripped paint from fences and left the ground littered with broken glass.
Further north, Erin Williams faced a similar onslaught at her Alzada ranch. She reported that the hail shattered every window in her home, cracked windshields on several vehicles and resulted in the loss of several animals. "It felt like the sky was falling," Williams recalled, noting that the damage would require weeks to repair.
Storm chaser Mikey Plemmons traveled to the region expecting to document a tornado. Instead, he encountered a wall of destructive hail that forced him to seek shelter to protect his own windshield. "The storm came close to spawning a tornado," Plemmons noted, "but the hail was the dominant feature, and it was powerful enough to cause real damage in an instant."
A Near Miss with a Tornado
While tracking the system, Plemmons observed radar signatures that hinted at possible tornadic activity. The storm’s dynamics suggested a tornado might have formed, yet no funnel was confirmed on the ground. The near‑miss left the chaser with a stark reminder of how quickly severe weather can shift from one hazard to another.
Residents across the affected ranches share a common thread: the storm’s raw power left an indelible impression. Whether it was the roar of hail striking metal or the sight of broken windows and lifeless livestock, the event underscored the vulnerability of rural communities to sudden, extreme weather.