High Wind in Montana, March 10, 2003

Name: High Wind in Montana, March 10, 2003
Start: 2003-03-10T08:10
End: 2003-03-10T18:00
Location: Montana

March 10, 2003 · NWS TFX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A high wind event occurred over the Rocky Mountain Front and in Toole County on the 10th. Here is a list of some of the peak wind speeds reported:East Glacier 2E 61 mph at 1615 MST; Sweetgrass 44 mph sustained wind at 1200 MST; and Pendroy sustained wind 41 mph at 0800 MST.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 happened

The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.

A high wind event occurred over the Rocky Mountain Front and in Toole County on the 10th. The strongest wind gusts were reported in the mountains, while sustained winds over 40 mph were common over the adjacent Plains.Here is a list of some of the peak wind speeds reported:East Glacier 2E 61 mph at 1615 MST; Sweetgrass 44 mph sustained wind at 1200 MST; and Pendroy sustained wind 41 mph at 0800 MST.

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 Mar 10, 3:16 AM MST, 4 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 3:16 AM MST, 4 hours 54 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
316 AM MST MON MAR 10 2003

.SHORT TERM...COLD AIR STEADILY ERODING AWAY OVER THE PLAINS. BEST
ESTIMATE IS THAT GREAT FALLS (IN TOWN) WILL BREAK OUT AROUND 8 AM...
WITH CUT BANK FOLLOWING SUIT AN HOUR OR SO LATER. COLD AIR WILL
BACKTRACK AS SURFACE LOW SPINS UP IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA THIS MORNING.
HILL AND BLAINE COUNTIES ARE GOING TO STAY COLD MOST OF THE DAY...BUT
SHOULD BREAK OUT LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. AS THE LOW PASSES EAST OF THE
CWA THIS EVENING...COLD AIR WILL ATTEMPT A COMEBACK FROM THE NORTH.
IT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN RETAKING THE HI-LINE TONIGHT...AND
EVENTUALLY GREAT FALLS/LEWISTOWN TUESDAY MORNING. BUT THE COLD AIR
WILL MAKE A HASTY RETREAT OUT OF GTF/LWT TUESDAY AFTERNOON...PROBABLY
NOT TO BE SEEN AGAIN FOR A FEW MONTHS. NORTHEAST ZONES WILL HANG ONTO
THE ARCTIC UNTIL LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING. BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ALL
LOCATIONS WILL WARM UP SIGNIFICANTLY. HAVE MADE HELENA THE COOL SPOT
WEDNESDAY AS THERE WILL BE SOME SNOW COVER LEFT. ALL THE USUAL
DISCLAIMERS ABOUT THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST APPLY...AS LOCATION OF
COLD FRONT OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS WILL MEAN A DIFFERENCE OF 20-30
DEGREES. BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIP WILL BE OVER THE MOUNTAINS...AS A
MOIST WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES. OVER THE PLAINS SOME FLURRIES
ARE POSSIBLE WHILE THE COLD FRONT FLIRTS WITH THE PLAINS TUESDAY.

WITH RESPECT TO HIGHLIGHTS...WILL DROP WINTER STORM WARNING OVER THE
NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. SOME SNOW STILL LIKELY UP THERE TODAY...BUT
ACCUMULATIONS WILL NOT DO A WARNING JUSTICE. ALSO...BLOWING SNOW WILL
NOT BE A HUGE PROBLEM AS TEMPS WARM ABOVE FREEZING. WILL ALSO DROP
THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY. HIGH WIND WARNING WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT.
WINDS OFF THE SURFACE ARE ONLY ABOUT 60 MPH...SO WILL NEED EXCELLENT
MIXING TO SEE GUSTS THAT MEET CRITERIA. HOWEVER IT WILL BE VERY
WINDY...AND CUT BANK HAS NOT SEEN A 50 MPH GUST IN NEARLY 7 WEEKS. SO
EVEN IF WARNING DOES NOT VERIFY...I CAN LIVE WITH IT. POMEROY

.EXTENDED...MODELS CONTINUE TO BE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON GENERAL
TRENDS. SW FLOW ALOFT EARLY IN THE PERIOD IS FORECAST TO BACK TO SSW
BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND. AT THE SURFACE DOWNSLOPE THU INTO FRI IS
EXPECTED TO WEAKEN SAT AND TURN UPSLOPE WITH SE WINDS ON SUN. EXPECT
A WEAK SHORTWAVE ON THU BUT AIRMASS IS FORECAST TO BE QUITE DRY SO
ABOUT THE ONLY THREAT OF SHOWERS WOULD BE OVER THE FAR NW. MODELS
HINT AT A LITTLE STRONGER SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH OVER THE WEEKEND
BUT DIFFER ON TIMING. CURRENT FORECAST OF SCATTERED RAIN/SNOW
SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS IN THE
SW VALLEYS AND DRY CONDITIONS OVER THE PLAINS OVER THE WEEKEND LOOKS
GOOD. ALSO LIKE INHERITED FORECAST IDEA OF UNDERCUTTING MEX GUIDANCE
THU INTO FRI. ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL ABOVE NORMAL OVER
THE PLAINS MEX LOOKS A LITTLE TOO AGGRESSIVE WITH WARMING. BLANK

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF EC 047/032 045/033 059 19004
    NNEEE 040/062 038/058 032/059 032/053 032 00110111111
CTB NC 043/011 027/028 054 19024
    NNNEE 037/061 035/055 026/051 026/049 026 00110-11111
HLN EE 035/024 038/024 044 192-2
    EBEEE 035/049 032/054 031/056 031/049 031 11110222222
BZN EE 045/028 042/023 056 192-2
    EBEEE 031/059 031/053 029/053 029/052 029 10110222222
WEY EC 037/023 036/020 046 19443
    EBEEE 025/053 025/046 023/046 023/045 023 33110444445
DLN EC 050/030 042/025 052 192-2
    EBEEW 034/058 031/055 031/053 031/046 031 2-110222222
HVR EC 038/011 020/014 050 19124
    EBEBB 034/065 032/055 031/058 031/050 031 201100-----
LWT EC 041/023 044/027 053 19004
    ENEEB 037/062 033/058 030/053 030/051 047 20110-11111

.TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND
ADJACENT ZONES

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 10, 4:50 AM MST, 3 hours 20 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-110110-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
450 AM MST MON MAR 10 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT
AND ADJACENT PLAINS. REFER TO GTFNPWTFX FOR MORE DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: March 10, 8:10 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 36 kt (41 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Toole

When: March 10, 11:50 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Toole forecast zone
Measured: 38 kt (44 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: March 10, 4:15 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, March 2003

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: 5345036, 5345037, 5345035.