1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 9:00 PM MST, 2 hours earlier.
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
900 PM MST WED DEC 12 2001
...UPDATES PLANNED FOR ZONES AND STATE...
.SHORT TERM...ETA/AVN/NGM LOOK SLOW WITH THE SHORTWAVE THAT WAS OFF
THE PAC NW COAST AT 00Z. DRIER AIR ALOFT HAS ALREADY PUSHED TO THE
WA CASCADES. EXTRAPOLATION OF THIS DRIER AIR PUTS IT TO THE ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT BEFORE 12Z AND TO CENTRAL MT BY MID-MORNING. BASED
ON THIS WILL BE MAKING SOME CHANGES TO THE FORECAST. BIGGEST CHANGE
WILL BE TO DOWNGRADE THE WINTER STORM WARNING TO A SNOW AND BLOWING
SNOW ADVISORY. WITH DRIER AIR ALOFT MOVING INTO THE AREA BEFORE 12Z
EXPECT SMALLER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. HIGH WIND WARNING LOOKS
MARGINAL. LATEST MESOETA STILL HAS 700 MB WINDS 50 TO 55 KNOTS LATE
TONIGHT INTO THU. NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO DROP IT SO WILL LET IT
CONTINUE. FOR THE SW WILL BEEF UP FORECAST FOR THE MOUNTAINS FOR
LATER TONIGHT AND ALSO UP POPS A LITTLE IN THE VALLEYS. OVER THE
PLAINS THU WILL START OFF DAY PARTLY CLOUDY THEN GO WITH INCREASING
CLOUDS AS MOISTURE HEADED FOR THE PAC NW SPREADS OVER THE AREA.
WILL ALSO TONE DOWN SOME WINDS OVER THE PLAINS THU. FINALLY WILL
RAISE SOME FORECAST LOWS TONIGHT DUE TO CLOUDS AND WIND. BLANK
.EXTENDED...LOOKS LIKE LOW AMPLITUDE FLOW WILL CONTINUE WITH PERIODS
OF SNOW FOR THE WRN MOUNTAINS AND PROBABLY MORE DRY WEATHER FOR THE
PLAINS. MODELS IN AGREEMENT IN STARTING OFF SUN WITH UPPER RIDGE
OVER THE WRN U.S. FOR MONDAY UPPER RIDGE WILL BE MOVING E WITH WSW
FLOW ALOFT OVER THE AREA. THEREAFTER WOULD EXPECT TO SEE SOME
DIFFERENCES IN TIMING AND STRENGTH OF SHORTWAVES AFFECTING THE
AREA. BY WED MRF HAS FLOW ALOFT TURNING TO WNW WITH AIRMASS BECOMING
VERY MOIST. HOWEVER LOOKS LIKE DOWNSLOPE WILL CONTINUE AT THE
SURFACE SO WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP PLAINS DRY. BLANK
.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NN 028/041 028/042 020 14100
BNNEE 034/018 045/028 040/020 030/018 030 12100011111
CTB NN 023/039 025/036 014 14100
BNNEE 030/014 040/025 034/014 026/010 026 12100011111
HLN EE 025/040 020/040 015 14232
BBNEE 031/018 037/024 036/016 032/016 030 32100012222
BZN BE 015/033 015/034 014 03222
JBEEE 027/010 032/015 034/007 030/005 028 32200012222
WEY JJ 000/025 010/025 003 14354
BEEEE 020/000 024/005 025/000 022/000 020 42111123322
DLN JJ 014/033 018/033 014 14343
BENEE 028/009 034/016 035/006 030/007 027 42100012211
HVR NE 020/037 016/038 013 14000
BBNEE 031/012 038/022 038/016 026/012 026 22100011111
LWT NN 021/039 025/040 014 14000
BNNEE 032/014 040/024 038/018 030/015 028 12100011111=
.TFX...RCKY MTN FNT TNGT ABV 5000 FT WNTR WEA ADVSRY
RCKY MTN FNT LATE TNGT/THU BLO 5000 FT HI WND WRNG
NOTE: RCKY MTN FNT IS ZONES 9 AND 481 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained wind speed of 35 kt (estimated) reported as well by spotter at Pendroy 18 W.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 2001
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: 5275290.