2 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Mar 4, 2:30 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 AM MST MON MAR 4 2002
.SHORT TERM...MODELS ARE FAIRLY SIMILAR WITH UPPER LEVEL FEATURES
THROUGH THE SHORT TERM...WITH LARGER DIFFERENCES APPEARING AT THE
SURFACE. AT 00Z AND 06Z THE AVN APPEARED TO HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON
PLACEMENT OF THE MSLP PATTERN. WILL TREND TOWARD THIS SOLUTION...BUT
DO NOT EXPECT SYSTEM MOVEMENT TO BE AS FAST AS WHAT THE AVN SHOWS.
SURFACE LOW OVER SASK-MAN IS RAPIDLY MOVING E...LEAVING A TROUGH THAT
STRETCHES FROM CNTRL BC TO SRN SASK. THE TROUGH DRIFTS S THROUGH THE
PERIOD...CLOSING OFF OVER CNTRL/SRN MT 0N TUESDAY. SURFACE GRADIENT
ALONG THE E SLOPES IS LESS TODAY THAN ON SUNDAY...BUT 700 MB FLOW
INCREASES TO 60 KT AND BECOMES MORE WLY. EXPECT THAT WINDS MAY BE
MARGINAL...BUT WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE ROCKY MTN
FRONT FOR TODAY...USING THE RATHER SAFE THAN SORRY RATIONAL. AS THE
CLOSED SURFACE LOW MOVES E...THE NEXT CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM
PUSHES S OF THE BORDER LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY EVENING.
ANOTHER LOW DEVELOPS OVER THE PAC NW AND RIPPLES SE ALONG THE ARCTIC
BOUNDARY ON WED...WITH W-SW FLOW ALOFT BRINGING ABUNDANT MOISTURE
OVER THE COLD AIR. UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS ARE RELATIVELY UNIMPRESSIVE
THROUGH THE PERIOD...ALTHOUGH THE RIGHT REAR QUAD OF THE JET SHOULD
CAUSE SOME LIFT TUESDAY NIGHT. MPJ
.EXTENDED...SNOW EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER CWA THURSDAY AS AN
UPPER TROUGH TRACKS OVER THE NRN ROCKIES...THEN TAPERS OFF THURSDAY
NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE WRN CONUS OVER THE
WEEKEND FOR WARMER AND DRYER REGIME. MODELS SLOW DOWN THE APPROACH
OF THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...SO WILL REMOVE MENTION OF SNOW FOR
SUNDAY. MPJ
.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NE 043/028 035/006 012 14013
SJJBE 901/018 000/020 010/035 018/038 018 65554311112
CTB NJ 040/021 028/000 008 14025
JJEBE 902/016 000/018 008/030 015/033 015 44552211112
HLN NE 044/025 039/015 022 14002
SJJBE 010/029 009/025 010/030 018/038 018 66554311112
BZN EE 034/015 037/015 028 14002
SJJBJ 005/024 005/020 005/024 010/028 010 46555522222
WEY EE 023/908 027/902 019 14012
SJJBJ 910/015 905/015 000/020 005/022 005 56555522222
DLN EE 034/014 036/016 030 14002
SJJBJ 005/024 005/020 005/024 010/028 010 66555522222
HVR EJ 040/024 028/000 006 14134
JJEBE 904/015 000/015 002/027 015/038 015 45552211111
LWT NJ 042/026 038/008 011 14013
SJJBE 901/016 000/018 010/033 016/035 016 66554311111
.TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT
(MTZ009-048).2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A high wind event occurred over the Rocky Mountain Front during the morning hours of the 4th. Wind gusts were estimated at 65 mph at 0900 MST 18 West of Pendroy, and at 60 mph at 0930 MST in East Glacier. Visibilities were reduced below one half mile at times due to blowing snow.
A high wind event occurred over the Rocky Mountain Front during the morning hours of the 4th. Wind gusts were estimated at 65 mph at 0900 MST 18 West of Pendroy, and at 60 mph at 0930 MST in East Glacier. Visibilities were reduced below one half mile at times due to blowing snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, March 2002
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: 5286991, 5286992.