Name: High Wind in Montana, November 25, 2002
Start: 2002-11-25T10:00
End: 2002-11-25T14:00
Location: Montana

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Nov 25, 9:15 AM MST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 25, 9:15 AM MST, 45 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
915 AM MST MON NOV 25 2002

WILL UPDATE ZONES AND STATE FORECAST

.SHORT TERM...NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES TODAY AS A POTENT
SHORTWAVE MOVES SOUTH ALONG THE MONTANA-DAKOTAS BORDER. A VIGOROUS
SURFACE LOW IS CURRENTLY OVER CENTERED OVER THE FAR NW CORNER OF
NORTH DAKOTA AND WILL CONTINUE TO SPEED SOUTH. BEHIND THIS SYSTEM ARE
GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS AND COLDER SURFACE TEMPERATURES.
SURFACE OB SITE CWEH IN FAR SW SASK EARLIER GUSTED ABOVE HIGH WIND
CRITERIA. HOWEVER...THIS SITE IS LOCATED ON THE DOWNSLOPE SIDE OF
THE CYPRESS HILLS WHICH LIKELY ENHANCED WIND SPEEDS. BELIEVE IT IS
POSSIBLE THAT LOCATIONS IN BLAINE AND FERGUS COUNTIES MAY BRIEFLY
MEET HIGH WIND CRITIERIA...BUT EXPECT THAT THIS SITUATION WILL BE
TOO BRIEF AND SPATIALLY LIMITED TO WARRANT ISSUING A WARNING.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING AREA OF LOW CLOUDS OVER CENTRAL MONTANA
AND A LARGER AREA OF CLOUDS OVER EASTERN MONTANA AND SASK. SKIES IN
ALBERTA ARE GENERALLY CLEAR...AND THIS AREA OF CLEARING WILL ADVECT
INTO CENTRAL MONTANA TODAY. WILL UPDATE SKY CONDITION ACROSS MUCH OF
CWA TO REFLECT CURRENT CONDITIONS AND TO ACCOUNT FOR LIKELIHOOD OF
CLEARING SKIES. WILL ALSO TWEAK TEMPERATURES TO ACCOUNT FOR CURRENT
TEMPS AND LIKELIHOOD OF COLD ADVECTION...AND DROP MENTION OF SNOW
SHOWERS IN THE EASTERN PLAINS TO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLURRIES. MPJ

.EXTENDED...THE GFS AND THE ECWMF LOOK TO BE A PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT
TILL NEXT SUNDAY. CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK. ONLY REAL CHANGE
WILL BE TO UP TEMPERATURES OVER THE NORTH FOR THANKSGIVING...AS A
WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE AREA WILL ALLOW FOR UNSEASONABLY WARM
TEMPERATURES. ON FRIDAY...THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE NORTHERLY...
BRINGING BACK A RETURN OF NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES. WITH THE UPPER
LEVEL FLOW ALOFT DUE NORTHERLY...WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL
BE MOVING SOUTH THROUGH THIS FLOW. HOWEVER...AS OF NOW...THE ENERGY
FROM THESE DISTURBANCES SHOULD REMAIN OUT OVER EASTERN MONTANA...OR
FURTHER EAST...ALLOWING FOR DRY CONDITIONS. FOR SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY...THE NORTHERLY FLOW RELAXES A BIT...AS THE RIDGE MOVES A BIT
FURTHER EAST. HOWEVER EXACT TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THIS RIDGE
MOVEMENT IS A BIT UNCERTAIN...SO CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD. BRUSDA

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 037/014 036/018 040 07000
    EBBBB 022/055 025/045 025/047 021/044 021 11000000000
CTB BB 033/012 036/017 040 07000
    EBBBB 020/051 022/043 022/044 020/042 020 01000000000
HLN FB 025/011 030/015 032 07000
    EBBBB 018/039 019/037 019/038 019/042 019 11000000000
BZN FB 021/001 027/005 029 07000
    EBBBB 007/035 012/034 012/037 015/040 015 11000000000
WEY BB 020/905 025/000 027 07100
    EBBBB 902/023 901/020 901/026 002/032 002 11000000000
DLN BB 023/008 027/009 030 07000
    EBBBB 009/035 010/030 010/031 013/037 013 01000000000
HVR EB 030/006 033/013 040 07100
    EBBBB 018/052 020/043 020/045 020/045 020 01000000000
LWT EB 034/008 035/014 040 07100
    EBBBB 017/048 020/041 020/042 021/042 021 11000000000

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 25, 6:00 AM MST, 4 hours before

MTZ008>015-044>055-260130-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
600 AM MST MON NOV 25 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Fergus

When: November 25, 10:00 AM MST to 2:00 PM MST
Where: Fergus forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

A cold front moved through Central Montana during the late morning and early afternoon hours on the 25th. Near and just behind the passage of the cold front, winds gusted to over 60 mph at times. Here is a list of some peak wind speeds recorded:Judith Gap 67 mph at 1150 MST; Forestgrove 19S 64 mph at 1200 MST; Garneill 6S 67 mph at 1200 MST; and Lewistown 22S 64 mph at 1200 MST.

High Wind, Judith Basin

When: November 25, 10:00 AM MST to 2:00 PM MST
Where: Judith Basin forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

A cold front moved through Central Montana during the late morning and early afternoon hours on the 25th. Near and just behind the passage of the cold front, winds gusted to over 60 mph at times. Here is a list of some peak wind speeds recorded:Judith Gap 67 mph at 1150 MST; Forestgrove 19S 64 mph at 1200 MST; Garneill 6S 67 mph at 1200 MST; and Lewistown 22S 64 mph at 1200 MST.

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, November 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: 5321717, 5321718.