High Wind in Montana, January 4, 2001

Name: High Wind in Montana, January 4, 2001
Start: 2001-01-04T05:03
End: 2001-01-04T05:03
Location: Montana

January 4, 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 Jan 4, 3:00 AM MST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 4, 3:00 AM MST, 2 hours 3 minutes before

NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
300 AM MST THU JAN 4 2001

.TDY AND FRI...

HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE CONTINUES TO RESIDE OVER PACIFIC NORTHWEST THOUGH
INTERMITTENTLY FLATTENED BY INCOMING PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEMS. AS
SYSTEMS PUSH THROUGH RIDGE THEY WILL WEAKEN...BUT WILL STILL MAINTAIN
ENOUGH STRENGTH TO INCREASE WIND AND CREATE SOME PRECIPITATION...
MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS.

WIND HAS DECREASED MOST AREAS OF CWA WITH CTB BEING THE EXCEPTION AND
STILL SURPASSING WARNING CRITERIA. PRESSURE FALLS HAVE DECREASED AND
GRADIENT BEGINNING TO RELAX...EXPECT WIND AT CTB WILL BEGIN
DECREASING IN NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS AND PLAN TO LET WARNING EXPIRE.
DISTURBANCE PUSHING THROUGH RIDGE SHOULD BE PUSHING EAST OF CWA BY
MID MORNING WITH RIDGE REBUILDING OVER PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THERE IS A
SMALL DISTURBANCE RIDING THROUGH THE RIDGE THAT WILL BRUSH ACROSS
NORTHERN THIRD OF CWA TONIGHT. DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH DISTURBANCE
NOT OVERLY IMPRESSIVE...HOWEVER THERE WILL BE A FAIR AMOUNT OF
MOISTURE IN LOWER AND MID LEVELS. BELIEVE ISOLATED SHOWERS A
POSSIBILITY AND WILL THROW IN SOME LOW POPS. STRONGER DISTURBANCE
MOVES IN FRIDAY AGAIN FLATTENING RIDGE. ENERGY WITH THIS DISTURBANCE
APPEARS SLIGHTLY STRONGER THAN THE LAST AND AVN...ETA AND NGM ALL
FORECASTING 700MB WIND 60 TO 70KT. SO WILL AGAIN ADD WORDING FOR WIND
THOUGH WILL NOT GO WITH ANY HIGHLIGHT AT THIS TIME. GL

.SAT...SUN...MON...TUE...WED...

FOR EXTENDED...MRF...ECMWF AND UKMET CONTINUE IN GOOD AGREEMENT AND
WITH GOOD RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY. SYSTEM THAT MOVES ONSHORE FRIDAY
FLATTENING RIDGE PUSHES ACROSS CWA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. ONLY
MODERATE MOISTURE ACCOMPANIES THE SYSTEM AND BELIEVE CURRENT FORECAST
OF CHANCE POPS...MAINLY NORTH AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS APPROPRIATE.
MEANTIME...CUTOFF LOW OFF SOUTHERN CA COAST OPENS FRIDAY AND TRACKS
ACROSS US/MEX BORDER SATURDAY. WITH THIS LOW OUT OF THE WAY...THE
NEXT PACIFIC TROUGH IS ABLE TO DIG DEEP ALONG THE COAST SUNDAY. AS
THIS TROUGH DIGS...RIDGE IS AMPLIFIED OVER MONTANA SUNDAY. CURRENT
MRF SOLUTION DOES NOT DEEPEN TROUGH QUITE AS MUCH AS PREVIOUS RUN AND
IS SLIGHTLY SLOWER IN MOVING IT INLAND. TROUGH NOW FORECAST TO MOVING
INLAND MONDAY...COVERING MOST OF WESTERN U.S. TUESDAY. SYSTEM MOVING
INTO THE TROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL BE SHEARED FROM CANADA TO
MEXICO. WITH ONLY CHANNELED VORTICITY...EXPECT PRECIP TO BE SCATTERED
TUESDAY. ANOTHER DISTURBANCE DIVES IN QUICKLY BEHIND REACHING CWA
WEDNESDAY FOR CONTINUED CHANCES OF PRECIP.  GL

CCF NUMBERS
GTF EN 050/034 051/031 044 03001
DLN BB 035/022 036/019 029 03000
BZN BB 033/015 035/016 029 03000
WEY BB 025/902 025/903 020 03101
CTB EN 049/034 046/029 040 03021
HVR EN 046/029 048/030 040 03010
HLN EE 035/020 038/018 030 03011
LWT EN 047/033 049/029 041 03001

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 4, 5:03 AM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 78 kt (90 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

St Mary...G65kt Browning.

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

Every storm in Montana in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, January 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: 5228855.