Montana, 2001

High Wind in Montana, May 1, 2001

May 1, 2001 · NWS GGW · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Sustained winds of 40 mph were common across the region after a cold frontal passage. The peak wind speed was 68 mph at Whitewater.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

Sustained winds of 40 mph were common across the region after a cold frontal passage. The peak wind speed was 68 mph at Whitewater.

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 May 1, 8:30 AM MST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 8:30 AM MST, 1 hour before
NORTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
930 AM MDT TUE MAY 1 2001

...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY...

HIGH WIND WARNING ALREADY BEGINNING TO VERIFY IN SOME COUNTIES AS
VERY STRONG WINDS ALOFT MIX DOWN. MALTA ASOS IN PHILLIPS COUNTY
REPORTED WIND GUST TO 54 MPH LAST HOUR. 12Z SOUNDING HAD 50KT WIND
LESS THAN 1000 FT ABOVE SFC AND IT PROBABLY HASNT FULLY MIXED DOWN
YET. EXPECT HIGH WINDS TO CONTINUE INTO AFTERNOON BEFORE EASING THIS
EVENING. 12Z GUIDANCE STILL SHOWS SKIES CLOUDING UP THIS AFTERNOON
WITH CHC SHOWERS TONIGHT AS UPPER DISTURBANCE DROPS IN FROM NW.
CURRENT FCST HANDLES SITUATION SO WILL ONLY UPDATE TO REMOVE TIMING
OF HIGH WIND AND ADJUST TODAY POPS DOWN.           WRIGHT

EXTENDED...CLOSED LOW CONTINUES TO SPIN OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...MEANWHILE THE JET STREAM REMAINS WELL NORTH OF
THE STATE. WILL CONTINUE WITH THE DRY TREND FOR THESE DAYS. CUTOFF
LOW WEAKENS AND MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS WEEKEND. MODELS
KEEP THE CLOSED LOW AND THE ASSOCIATED ENERGY MAINLY SOUTH OF THE
CWA. COULD SEE SOME SHOWERS OF THE BACK SIDE OF THE
SYSTEM...THEREFORE WILL KEEP THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR THIS WEEKEND.
RIDGE STARTS TO DEVELOP OVER THE WESTERN STATES MONDAY KEEPING THE
REGION DRY.  MEIER

KGGW /055 034/057 035/064 038/068 040/072 042/072 042/070
      NWBBWWB  81333/7811332
KGDV /062 037/057 035/061 036/065 040/068 043/070 043/070
      NWBBWWB  81333/7811332

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Dawson

When
May 1, 9:30 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Dawson forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Central and Southern Valley

When
May 1, 11:30 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where
Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Central and Se Phillips

When
May 1, 11:30 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where
Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
Measured
35 kt (40 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northern Phillips

When
May 1, 11:30 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Phillips forecast zone
Measured
59 kt (68 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (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, May 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: 5244922, 5244920, 5244921, 5244923.