Montana, 2002

High Wind in Montana, January 7, 2002

January 7, 2002 · 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 7, 9:45 AM MST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 9:45 AM MST, 5 hours 10 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
945 AM MST MON JAN 7 2002

.SHORT TERM...WILL UPDATE ZONES...MODELS INDICATE STRONGEST WINDS AT
12Z...BEGIN TO TAPER OFF BY 18Z. HOWEVER SURFACE GRADIENT BETWEEN YZU
AND BOI IS TIGHTEST AT 18Z. ALSO WATER VAPOR INDICATES A SHORT WAVE
OVER WESTERN MONTANA SO WE SHOULD STILL SEE A GOOD SITUATION FOR THE
STRONGEST WINDS THRU NOON. TEMPS AT BZN HAVE BEEN NEAR 50F OVERNIGHT
BUT THIS LOOKS LIKE A POSSIBLE EQUIPMENT PROBLEM AND CAUTION SHOULD
BE USED TODAY. WILL UPDATE TO RAISE SOME TEMPS ALONG THE EASTERN
SLOPES. ZELZER

.EXTENDED...MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE
EXTENDED PERIOD AS ANTI-CYCLONIC NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES. NO
PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED WITH DOWNSLOPE WINDS OVER THE PLAINS. THE
ONLY PROBLEM IN THE FORECAST IS THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ARCTIC FRONT
APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH LATE IN THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. THE MRF HAS
BEEN THE MOST CONSISTENT WITH THIS FEATURE SO I WILL STICK WITH THE
SUNDAY TIMING FOR NOW AS IT IS OUT AT DAY 7. NO NEED TO MAKE ANY
CHANGES TO THE GOING FORECAST. JCA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NN 059/042 050/028 045 16001
   NUUNS 030/050 034/050 038/052 034/034 034 11000000044
CTB NN 055/038 047/027 043 16011
   NUUNS 027/048 032/046 035/050 025/025 025 11000000044
HLN NN 048/032 048/028 045 16122
   BUUUE 025/045 025/046 028/048 033/040 033 21000000033
BZN EN 048/030 046/022 040 16123
   BUUUE 015/038 015/038 015/040 025/040 025 31000000033
WEY EN 033/015 030/012 028 16135
   JUUUE 000/030 002/030 003/030 015/032 015 51000000033
DLN EN 045/030 045/022 040 16123
   BUUUE 018/038 015/038 018/040 025/040 025 31000000022
HVR NN 059/033 048/025 044 16001
   NUUUS 024/047 026/045 030/048 028/028 028 11000000044
LWT NN 055/039 050/028 044 16001
   NUUUS 025/048 028/048 035/052 032/034 032 11000000044

.TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING ZONES 9-10-46-48-49 THROUGH MONDAY
       AFTERNOON.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Glacier

When
January 7, 2:55 PM MST
Where
Eastern Glacier forecast zone
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Reported from Del Bonita.

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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 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: 5276791.