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 Jan 2, 9:45 AM MST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
945 AM MST THU JAN 2 2003
.SHORT TERM...NO UPDATE THIS MORNING. WEAK UPPER RIDGE OVER THE AREA
WITH PLENTY OF MOISTURE STREAMING THROUGH. STRONG DOWNSLOPE
GRADIENT WILL INHIBIT PRECIPITATION OVER THE PLAINS AND CONFINE ANY
SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS. WILL CONTINUE WITH HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE
NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. EMANUEL
.EXTENDED...GENERAL PATTERN REMAINS CONSISTENT WITH ZONAL FLOW ALOFT
AND WARM...WINDY AND GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS PERSISTING SUNDAY
THROUGH TUESDAY. JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW SUNDAY NIGHT
INTO MONDAY. OTHERWISE...STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN CONCERN
ACROSS THE PLAINS. MONDAY...IT APPEARS VERY WARM AIR ALOFT WILL
COMBINE WITH STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS TO SEND TEMPS INTO THE 50S
ACROSS THE PLAINS. EVEN THE SOUTHWEST VALLEYS SHOULD MAKE IT INTO
THE MID TO UPPER 40S. THE WEATHER MAY START TO BECOME MORE
WINTER-LIKE ON WEDNESDAY...AS AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO
MOVE DOWN FROM CANADA. SINCE THIS IS STILL A GOOD 6-7 DAYS
OUT...WILL BLANKET CWA WITH SLIGHT CHANCE POPS AND TREND TEMPS
DOWNWARD. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THE MODELS CONTINUE TO
RAPIDLY BUILD A RIDGE OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST...WHICH WOULD
ALLOW MUCH COLDER AIR TO FINALLY FUNNEL DOWN INTO MONTANA. VILLANI
.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NE 052/036 052/034 053 14001
NENNE 034/046 034/052 035/049 029/035 015 00200000222
CTB NE 045/035 047/033 047 14001
NENNE 032/044 032/050 033/046 027/033 013 00200000222
HLN EE 046/030 047/028 047 14002
NEEBE 030/043 029/047 030/044 026/036 012 10200000222
BZN EE 045/027 048/024 046 14023
NEEBE 025/039 026/045 027/042 024/034 010 12200000222
WEY EJ 029/011 032/012 030 14335
NEEBE 016/031 016/035 017/033 015/025 001 22220000222
DLN EE 042/031 046/028 045 14223
EEEEE 026/038 027/047 028/044 025/035 011 12200000222
HVR EE 047/029 050/028 047 14001
EEEBE 028/043 024/048 027/045 021/031 011 00220000222
LWT EE 050/035 050/032 048 14001
NNEBE 031/044 030/050 031/048 028/033 013 00200000222
TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE NORTHERN
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT.MTZ008>015-044>055-030110- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 615 AM MST THU JAN 2 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA .DAY ONE...TODAY A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. SUSTAINED WINDS ABOVE 40 MPH ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON...WITH GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE. PLEASE REFER TO GTFNPWTFX FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOWEVER... GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE THROUGH THE NEXT WEEK. VERY STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AND AGAIN ON MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A high wind event occurred over the northern Rocky Mountain Front and across Eastern Glacier County. Wind gusts over 60 mph were reported throughout the region. A wind gust of 76 mph occurred at Two Medicine at 1315 MST and a wind gust to 62 mph occurred at Cut Bank at 1456 MST.
A high wind event occurred over the northern Rocky Mountain Front and across Eastern Glacier County. Wind gusts over 60 mph were reported throughout the region. A wind gust of 76 mph occurred at Two Medicine at 1315 MST and a wind gust to 62 mph occurred at Cut Bank at 1456 MST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2003
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: 5339088, 5339089.