High Wind in Montana, February 23, 2002

Name: High Wind in Montana, February 23, 2002
Start: 2002-02-23T12:06
End: 2002-02-23T12:06
Location: Montana

February 23, 2002 · NWS BYZ · 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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 23, 9:09 AM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 9:09 AM MST, 2 hours 57 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
909 AM MST SAT FEB 23 2002

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR TDY...SUN...MON...

WILL BE UPDATING SHORTLY...
15Z SFC ANALYSIS HAS COLD FRONT NOW THROUGH SHR COUNTY AS TEMPS ARE
JUST STARTING TO FALL...ALTHOUGH SLIGHTLY. ARCTIC AIR IS POISED JUST TO
THE NORTH OF OUR CWA WITH GTF ABOUT 10 DEGREES COLDER THAN BIL. BOTH
GGW AND GTF RADARS SHOWING PRECIP INCREASING IN COVERAGE AND SLOWLY
SINKING SOUTHWARD. LATEST OBS SHOW -SN FALLING IN GTF AND LWT WITH
VISIBILITIES UNDER 3SM. BIL RADAR HAS PRECIP MOVING INTO THE FAR
WESTERN ZONES. RECENT CALL TO LVM HAS OVC SKIES SO PRECIP IS NOT
REACHING THE GROUND. TEMP/DP SPREAD IN LVM ONLY 4 DEGREES SO IT WONT
BE LONG BEFORE PRECIP REACHES THE SFC. ATMOS IN BIL IS MOISTENING UP
NICELY AS TEMP/DP SPREAD IS NOW 5 DEGREES WITH VERY LIGHT FLURRIES AT
OUR OFFICE AND AIRPORT REPORTING -SN.

HAVE REACHED HIGH THIS MORNING AND TEMPS WILL BEGIN TO FALL THROUGH THE
REMAINDER OF THE DAY. WILL UPDATE ALL ZONES TO REFLECT -SN DEVELOPING
THIS MORNING EXCEPT IN THE EAST AND SHR CO. WILL LEAVE CURRENT FORECAST
FOR THOSE AREAS AS IS.  HOOLEY

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR TUE...WED...THU...FRI...
STRONG SHORTWAVE ENERGY THAT SWEEPS THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY AND MONDAY
NIGHT SHOULD REINFORCE THE ARCTIC AIR. 1053MB HIGH PROGGED OVER SOUTH
CENTRAL MONTANA MONDAY NIGHT. DRIER AIR WILL REPLACE THE DEEP MOISTURE
EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND. LIGHT WINDS AND FRESH SNOW COVER SHOULD ALLOW
LOWS TO DROP BELOW ZERO TUESDAY MORNING. SURFACE HIGH DOES NOT MOVE MUCH
ON TUESDAY AND FLOW REMAINS NORTHWEST. A COLD START TUESDAY WILL MAKE
CURRENT FORECAST HIGHS VERY DIFFICULT TO REACH. WILL DROPS TEMPERATURES
MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. NEXT UPSTREAM WAVE MOVES OVER SOUTHEAST
MONTANA ON WEDNESDAY. AIR DOES BECOMES MORE UNSTABLE...BUT ATMOSPHERE
PROGGED TO REMAIN FAIRLY DRY. WILL LEAVE POPS ALONE. WILL TEMPER THE
WARMUP ON WEDNESDAY HOWEVER AND MAKE THE TRANSITION TO WARMER READINGS
MORE GRADUAL TO THE END OF THE WEEK. BOTH THE MRF AND ECMWF DROP A WAVE
FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA WEDNESDAY...DOWN INTO IDAHO THURSDAY MORNING. THEY
THEN CLOSE THE LOW OFF OVER WYOMING AND SINK IT SOUTH TOWARD COLORADO
FRIDAY. THIS COULD BE PROBLEMATIC IF THE TRANSITION SOUTH IS SLOWER AND
IS CERTAINLY WORTH WATCHING. HUMPHREY

    TDY SUN     MON     TUE     WED     THU     FRI
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 028 013/018 001/009 903/019 009/025 013/027 013/035
    8/S ++/S    31/M    20/B    22/E    22/E    21/E
LVM 035 013/019 004/014 901/021 007/024 011/026 014/030
    8/S ++/S    31/M    20/E    22/E    22/E    21/E
HDN 030 011/017 000/007 905/017 007/026 011/027 011/036
    8/S ++/S    31/M    20/B    22/E    22/E    21/E
MLS 032 015/020 903/008 907/015 005/023 011/026 011/037
    6/S 88/S    31/M    20/B    02/E    22/E    21/E
4BQ 034 017/018 903/010 907/015 005/023 012/027 012/038
    6/S 88/S    31/M    20/B    02/E    22/E    21/E
BHK 030 011/015 907/005 910/013 002/021 008/025 008/030
    6/S 88/S    31/M    20/B    02/E    22/E    21/E
SHR 045 017/023 002/008 908/016 005/024 011/028 011/034
    6/S 78/S    41/M    20/B    02/E    22/E    21/E

.BYZ...NONE.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass

When: February 23, 12:06 PM MST
Where: Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

54 mph sustained wind in Livingston

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, February 2002

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: 5278825.