Montana, 2001

High Wind in Montana, August 4, 2001

August 4, 2001 · NWS GGW · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

High winds behind a cold front produced a wind gusts to 60 mph at Manning Corral Dogtown RAWS site located 20 miles south of Zortman. There was also a wind gusts of 59 mph reported at the King Coulee RAWS site located 40 miles south of Glasgow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 GGW wrote it up.

High winds behind a cold front produced a wind gusts to 60 mph at Manning Corral Dogtown RAWS site located 20 miles south of Zortman. There was also a wind gusts of 59 mph reported at the King Coulee RAWS site located 40 miles south of Glasgow.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 4, 1:30 PM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 1:30 PM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
230 PM MDT SAT AUG 4 2001

COLD FRONT MOVING INTO CENTRAL MONTANA. WATCH BOX JUST WENT OUT. DRY
LINE FRONT OVER FAR EASTERN MONTANA WITH LOWERING DEW POINTS OVER
REMAINDER OF STATE. WITH LOW LEVELS DRYING OUT...STRONG WINDS MORE
OF A THREAT...ESPECIALLY OVER WESTERN ZONES. MOISTURE HANGING IN
OVER THE EAST ALTHOUGH DEW POINTS HAVE STARTED TO DROP. EXPECT
STORMS TO CONTINUE MOVING EAST OVERNIGHT WITH COLD FRONT AND
SHORTWAVE TROF. ETA TRACKS CONVECTIVE FEED BACK COUPLET ACROSS
NORTHEAST MONTANA BETWEEN 6Z AND 12Z SO WILL KEEP SCATTERED POPS FOR
ALL ZONES TONIGHT.

HIGH PRESSURE MOVES IN FOR DRY WEATHER ON SUNDAY. UPPER RIDGE
FLATTENS OUT AND LOW LEVEL FLOW TURNS NORTHWEST FOR TEMPS A FEW
DEGREES COOLER. BY MONDAY...RIDGE BEGINS BUILDING BACK NORTH AND
SURFACE HIGH MOVES EAST ALLOWING FOR SOUTHEAST RETURN FLOW. HOT
TEMPERATURES RETURN BUT SHOULD CAP ANY CONVECTION.

EXTENDED...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE ON TUESDAY.
SURFACE LOW MOVES ACROSS CWFA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING.
COOLER AIR SHOULD BE IN PLACE FOR WEDNESDAY WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. ZONAL FLOW WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER CWFA FOR
THE REST OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. CURRENT PACKAGE DOING A DECENT JOB
OF HANDLING THIS. WILL CONTINUE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS INTO
SATURDAY.   POHL

KGGW 065/085 061/092 059/094 0630/087 059/083 057/084 055/083
      UUBTTTT  904000/8723333
KGDV 067/088 064/094 061/094 059/090 055/085 057/084 055/083
      UUBTTTT  904000/8723333

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 6:20 PM MST, 25 minutes before
MTZ016-021-059-060-050200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
720 PM MDT SAT AUG 4 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CLEARED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
FOR THE FO`LLOWING COUNTIES

IN NORTHEAST MONTANA:

PHILLIPS              PETROLEUM

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF
MALTA...ZORTMAN AND WINNETT.

76

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central and Se Phillips

When
August 4, 6:45 PM MST
Where
Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Central and Southern Valley

When
August 4, 7:51 PM MST
Where
Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
48.365, -106.667 (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

More

Every storm in Montana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, August 2001

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: 5265750, 5265751.