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The National Weather Service in Glasgow has released a summary of the deadly tornado that struck northeast Montana on Monday night.

In the summary, NWS officials provide insight into the development of the supercell thunderstorm that produced the tornado, which was rated an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

The tornado killed 46-year old Steven Smith and 10-year old Robert Richardson, and seriously injured 71-year old Barbara Smith.

Click here to see photos and videos of the tornado and the aftermath.

The photo above was taken by Keenan Engelke.

Here is an excerpt of the NWS summary; click here to read the entire document (PDF).

On the evening of July 26, 2010 thunderstorms developed in southern Saskatchewan along a cold front.

The storms moved into northeastern Montana. The supercell thunderstorms developed strong rotation, and funnel clouds were reported in Daniels County. As the storms moved southeast, they intensified and a large, long-lived tornado formed. The tornado traveled for 18 miles, mostly through rural areas, but it had devastating impacts as it hit a ranch, killing two people and injuring one.

On the morning of July 27th, two teams of NWS Glasgow staff surveyed the damage area. The first team started in Daniels County and followed the track of the storm to the east-southeast. The second team met with county and state officials at the site of the ranch that was most devastated. Both teams spoke to law enforcement officials, as well as weather spotters and the public who had reports of weather and/or damage as well as those who saw the tornado.

The initial damage from the tornado originated about 12 miles south of Redstone. Along the Reserve and Wanso Roads, six miles of power lines were snapped off. Sheridan Electric was able to restore power fairly quickly to the majority of residences by the next morning. Due to the poles being snapped, the tornado was rated an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale in this area. This was the widest portion of the tornado track with a width of a half mile.

The tornado continued east-southeast where it encountered an abandoned farmhouse, a barn and a bridge that went across Wolf Creek on the Three Corners Road. The farmhouse was blown off of the foundation, had some of the siding stripped off, and roof damage. The barn was completely destroyed, with the west and north facing walls blown away, and the south and east facing walls intact for the most part, but flattened on the ground. Two grain bins were destroyed, with a third still on its foundation but crushed. They appeared to be empty. The damage at this location was rated an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The width of the tornado at this point was a quarter mile wide.

The storm continued on its east-southeast track at a speed of about 30 mph. The Smith Ranch was then impacted. The ranch sits on a bit of a hill with a small stream valley from the west-northwest to just north of the property. There are no shelter belts or terrain to block some of the winds from the tornado.

The tornado was rated an EF3 at the Smith Ranch, with a width of three tenths of a mile. This was the highest rating during the life cycle of the tornado.