High Wind, Yellowstone
- When
- March 16, 9:30 AM MST to 6:30 PM MST
- Where
- Yellowstone forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
High Wind in Montana, March 16, 1999
A strong cold front generated northwest winds with gusts as high as 71 mph as it crossed South Central and southeastern Montana. A gust of 70 mph was observed at the National Weather Service Office at 1055 am while the Billings airport recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 1219 pm.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS BYZ wrote it up.
A strong cold front generated northwest winds with gusts as high as 71 mph as it crossed South Central and southeastern Montana. A gust of 70 mph was observed at the National Weather Service Office at 1055 am while the Billings airport recorded a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 1219 pm. Sustained winds of 40 mph were reported 10 miles east of Billings at 1210 pm. In Big Horn County wind gusts as high as 71 mph were observed at Big Horn Mountain at 1136 am, and a 58 mph peak gust was recorded at Badger Peak at 1130 am. Hillside in Custer County had sustained winds of 44 mph at 106 pm.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Big Horn
- When
- March 16, 11:00 AM MST to 6:30 PM MST
- Where
- Big Horn forecast zone
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Custer
- When
- March 16, 12:30 PM MST to 3:30 PM MST
- Where
- Custer forecast zone
- Measured
- 47 kt (54 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.253, -105.572 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Blizzard and Ice Storm in Alaska, March 16 to 19, 1999
- High Wind in Wyoming, March 16, 1999
- Strong Wind in Maine, March 16, 1999
- Strong Wind in North Carolina, March 16, 1999
- High Wind in South Dakota, March 16, 1999
- Flooding in Iowa, March 16 to 17, 1999
- Dust Devil in Florida, March 16, 1999
- High Wind in Wyoming, March 16, 1999
- High Wind in Wyoming, March 16, 1999
More
Every storm in Montana in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, March 1999
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5684026, 5684027, 5684028.