Montana, 2001

High Wind in Montana, December 14, 2001

December 14, 2001 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 14, 3:00 AM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 3:00 AM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 AM MST FRI DEC 14 2001

.SHORT TERM...RATHER MESSY PATTERN CONTINUES. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
CONTINUES ACROSS CWA AS UPPER TROF APPROACHES FROM THE WEST.
SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES STEADY FLOW OF IMPRESSIVE MOISTURE
MOVING UP ACROSS SOUTHEAST IDAHO AND ACROSS EASTERN MONTANA. WILL
CONTINUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF
SOUTHWEST MONTANA THROUGH THIS MORNING. WILL UPGRADE HIGH WIND
WATCH TO A WARNING FOR ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND ADJACENT PLAINS.
MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE 50-55KT WINDS AT 700MB LATE THIS MORNING
THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. WILL DROP THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE
HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. UPPER TROF AXIS
MOVES ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT BUT CONTINUED DOWNSLOPE SURFACE
GRADIENTS SHOULD INHIBIT MOST PRECIPITATION. DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW
ALOFT SETS UP OVER THE AREA SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES A PROBLEM AS
FORECAST DAYTIME HIGHS HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXCEEDED SOME AREAS. WILL
NEED TO ADJUST THEM UP. DOWN THE ROAD...SATURDAY NIGHT LOOKS
EXTREMELY WINDY. FORECAST LOWS ARE WAY TOO LOW AND HAVE RAISED THEM
CONSIDERABLY.

.EXTENDED...PROGRESSIVE PATTERN CONTINUES. SOUTHWEST TO WEST FLOW
ALOFT DAYS 4 AND 5 WITH MINIMAL DYNAMICS. UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER
THE AREA DAY 6 BUT SHIFTS RAPIDLY TO THE EAST AS AN UPPER TROF
APPROACHES FROM THE WEST DAY 7 WITH INCREASING BACKING FLOW ALOFT.
WILL NOT MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST.
EMANUEL

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NB 045/018 035/030 040 08111
   NEEBE 024/042 023/033 020/034 018/037 018 01123111122
CTB NB 037/015 032/028 034 08111
   NEBEE 020/036 012/032 016/030 015/032 015 01133111122
HLN JB 044/015 032/028 036 08321
   EEEEE 022/039 022/033 016/030 016/035 016 12213211122
BZN JB 038/012 030/026 034 08321
   EEEEE 018/038 022/028 008/026 014/030 014 12213211122
WEY JB 026/005 020/905 023 08732
   EESEE 000/025 015/021 000/018 006/020 006 22224322233
DLN JE 033/012 028/015 032 08321
   EEEEE 012/036 020/025 007/027 014/027 014 22223311122
HVR NB 050/017 032/028 034 08121
   NEBBE 020/042 018/033 010/030 010/033 010 01123111122
LWT NB 045/016 032/025 035 08111
   NBEEE 022/044 021/030 014/033 018/034 018 01113211122

.TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND
       ADJACENT PLAINS.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST
       MONTANA.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When
December 14, 4:45 AM MST
Where
Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Reported by spotter at Pendroy 18 W.

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, December 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: 5275291.