Rating:

5.0 (3 votes)

Two people were killed and one was seriously injured when a tornado struck a ranch in northeastern Montana on Monday evening.

The National Weather Service in Glasgow confirmed that a tornado touched down about nine miles west of Reserve in Sheridan County around 7:15 p.m. Monday. The storm formed at around 5:30 pm near Opheim, with a tornado - or multiple tornadoes - intermittently touching down as it traveled east towards North Dakota.

David Fulkerson, the Sheridan County Coroner, said that the tornado struck the Smith Ranch on Rock Springs Road, about 15 miles west of Reserve. The storm demolished several buildings on the ranch; three family members are believed to have been inside one of the buildings.

Multiple agencies assisted in the search of the property, where 71-year old Barbara Smith was found in the basement of her home. She was transported to Plentywood for medical care, and later taken to Billings for additional treatment.

Smith's grandson, 10-year old Robert Richardson, and her nephew, 46-year old Steven Smith, were found dead at the scene. Fulkerson attributed their deaths to blunt-force head and chest injuries.

KRTV received the above pictures from Dana Hannum, who lives in Antelope and watched the tornado forming across the valley from his residence.

(Monday night) A tornado touched down near Medicine Lake and Reserve in northeastern Montana on Monday evening, killing two people. The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for the area shortly before 6:00 pm, reporting that a funnel cloud had been spotted near Four Buttes and Scobey.

A trained weather spotter reported that a tornado touched down north of Scobey at about 6:35 pm and that a funnel cloud was observed for several minutes. Moments later, a trained spotter reported a large tornado on the ground with a debris cloud, located about 11 miles west-northwest of Medicine Lake.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, and it not yet known how much property damage the storm caused.

(Monday, 5:56 pm) A Tornado Warning has been issued and is in effect until 6:15 p.m. for eastern Daniels County. At 5:56 p.m., National Weather Service Doppler radar continued to indicate a tornado located near Four Buttes, about 12 miles northwest of Scobey, moving southeast at 15 mph.

Locations in the warning include Four Buttes and Scobey.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 2:00 a.m. Tuesday for much of northeast Montana.