Name: High Wind in Montana, May 19, 2001
Start: 2001-05-19T13:30
End: 2001-05-19T13:30
Location: Montana

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 May 19, 8:20 AM MST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 8:20 AM MST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
920 AM MDT SAT MAY 19 2001
...UPDATE TO THE ZONES AND CORRECTION TO THE STATE...
WLY FLOW ALOFT FORECAST TO INCREASE TODAY. SHORTWAVE THAT WAS OVER N
CENTRAL WA AT 12Z IS FORECAST TO RACE ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER WITH
NIVA FORECAST. AXIS OF STRONG JET STREAK NEAR THE CENTRAL B.C. COAST AT
12Z WL MOVE TO NEAR THE CANADIAN BORDER THIS AFTERNOON. WITH INCREASING
DOWNSLOPE FLOW TODAY AND RELATIVELY STABLE AIRMASS WILL DROP THE MENTION
OF PRECIPITATION EXCEPT OVER HILL AND BLAINE COUNTIES. THOSE TWO
COUNTIES WILL BE CLOSER TO UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER SRN CANADA SO WILL
LEAVE IN 20 PCT POPS THERE BUT INDICATE THE THREAT OF PRECIPITATION WILL
BE NEAR THE CANADIAN BORDER. HIGH WIND WARNING IN A PORTION OF THE NW
LOOKS OK. LATEST ETA FORECASTS 60 KNOTS OF WIND AT 700 MB AT 18Z BUT
DOES DIMINISH 700 MB WINDS A LITTLE BY 00Z. CURRENT HIGH WIND WARNING
GOES THROUGH THIS EVENING BUT WILL REWORD IT TO ONLY GO THROUGH EARLY
EVENING. THIS WILL AGREE BETTER WITH CURRENT WORDING IN THE ZONES. FOR
TONIGHT ANOTHER SHORTWAVE IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE AREA. FLOW WILL
BECOME BETTER UPSLOPE AS WINDS TURN MORE TO THE NW. ETA FORECASTS WEAK
PIVA WITH THE SHORTWAVE WHILE NGM HAS NIVA. AIRMASS DOES BECOME A LITTLE
LESS STABLE. CURRENT 30 PCT POPS LOOK OK. FORECAST HIGHS FOR TODAY LOOK
GOOD. BLANK

EXTENDED...WILL GENERALLY STICK WITH GOING EXTENDED AS MRF HAS BEEN
PRETTY CONSISTENT LAST FEW RUNS AND IN LINE WITH THE EUROPEANS. RAPID
RIDGING ON MONDAY FOR A RETURN TO WARM AND DRY WEATHER. CWA STAYS
UNDER THE RIDGE MORE OR LESS THROUGH FRIDAY. SOME HINT OF SOUTHWEST
FLOW ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY FOR A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

POMEROY

GTF NE 067/035 053/035 061 19232
CTB NE 062/034 048/035 055 19232
HLN NE 070/038 053/036 064 19132
BZN BE 068/034 052/032 058 19142
WEY BE 062/030 045/023 055 19052
DLN BE 065/034 055/032 062 19031
HVR NE 075/036 054/037 065 19232
LWT NE 066/034 049/031 055 19232

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Pondera

When: May 19, 1:30 PM MST
Where: Eastern Pondera forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Conrad 7 N spotter.

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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5249969.