Browning, MT Hail Storm – June 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Browning, MT on June 11, 2025, producing 1.25-inch hail during the early evening. The storm remained organized enough to draw three NWS alerts across the Browning area, with radar and spotter verification on each one.

The first alert came at 7:17 PM MDT and carried a 1.25-inch hail threat. A second alert followed at 7:30 PM MDT with the same hail size. A third alert at 7:42 PM MDT lowered the hail estimate to 1 inch, but it still carried radar and spotter-verified confidence. The sequence points to a storm that held its structure through the evening rather than collapsing after the first hail core.

Field reports lined up with the warning timing. At 7:18 PM MDT, Browning BIA reported large hail, with the location estimated. Two minutes later, a weather spotter on Highway 191 reported hail up to penny size and wind gusts near 50 mph, also with estimated time and location. Another pair of spotter reports at 7:35 PM MDT described pea-size hail.

The reports show a compact hail core early in the event, followed by smaller stones as the storm progressed. The warning area covered the broader storm path through Browning and nearby road corridors, while the spotter notes gave the clearest ground picture of where hail was falling.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to a hail event that produced surface impacts in and near Browning, but the available reports do not describe widespread structural damage. The first report from Browning BIA documented large hail. The Highway 191 report added a 50 mph wind estimate, which suggests the storm brought more than hail alone across part of the route.

The mix of reports matters for contractors working this event. Large hail was confirmed early. Smaller hail followed later in the same storm cycle. That pattern usually leaves uneven conditions across a short distance, with some roofs and vehicles taking direct hits while nearby properties see only minor debris or no obvious impact. In this case, the field notes were localized enough to point toward pockets of hail along the Browning corridor rather than a broad uniform swath.

Because the reports were time-stamped within minutes of one another, inspection crews should treat the event as a narrow but active early-evening hail sequence. The 7:18 PM MDT large-hail report and the 7:20 PM MDT Highway 191 report sit close enough together to suggest a short travel window between the larger core and the lighter hail that followed. The 7:35 PM MDT pea-size reports indicate the storm continued to affect the area after the peak hail threat had already passed.

No public field report in this event describes collapsed structures, tree loss, or vehicle breakage. The data supports a hail and wind inspection focus, not a broad catastrophe assumption. Roof slopes, soft metals, vents, and south- or west-facing elevations should stay on the list for site checks.