High Wind in Montana, March 24, 2003

Name: High Wind in Montana, March 24, 2003
Start: 2003-03-24T14:46
End: 2003-03-24T14:46
Location: Montana

March 24, 2003 · NWS TFX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A wind gust of 68 mph occurred at Chinook 11S.

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 happened

The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.

A wind gust of 68 mph occurred at Chinook 11S.

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 24, 9:00 AM MST, 5 hours 46 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 24, 9:00 AM MST, 5 hours 46 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
900 AM MST MON MAR 24 2003

.SHORT TERM...UPDATE TO ZONES PLANNED BY 930...BROAD TROF OVER MT
WITH AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE WEST COAST. ANOTHER
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WILL BE MOVING ONSHORE
OVERNIGHT. SOME CLOUDINESS STILL OVER THE ROCKIES ASSOCIATED WITH A
SHORT WAVE OVER ALTA AND THE NORTHERN ROCKIES...THIS SHORT WAVE
SHOULD MOVE EAST OF THE ZONES DURING THE AFTERNOON...NORTHEAST ZONES
AND HVR HAVE THE BEST CHANCE TO SEE A SHOWER OR TWO. AIR MASS
REMAINS STABLE...BUT WITH LOW CONVECTIVE TEMPS SHOULD GET SOME
CUMULUS DURING THE AFTERNOON...AND THIS ALSO WILL HELP BRING A FEW
EXTRA GUSTS TO THE SURFACE.  AFTERWARDS...WATER VAPOR INDICATES A
DRY AIRMASS UNTIL MOISTURE FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC MOVES ACROSS THE
ROCKIES. WILL UPDATE TO FRESHEN FIRST PERIOD WORDING AND TO DECREASE
WINDS. ZELZER

.EXTENDED...SURFACE LOW PRESSURE MOVES TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE STATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROF MOVES OVER CWA
WITH A SPLIT FLOW. SURFACE HIGH OVER CWA ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS UPPER
LEVEL RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD OVER WESTERN MONTANA ON FRIDAY...AND
OVER CWA ON SATURDAY. LOOKS LIKE A DIRTY RIDGE AS SURFACE WARM FRONT
TRIES TO MOVE OVER WESTERN MOUNTAINS. SURFACE GRADIENT TIGHTENS FOR
A WINDY DAY. RIDGE BREAKS DOWN SATURDAY NIGHT AS STRONG SURFACE LOW
MOVES FROM OVER CENTRAL ALBERTA TOWARDS NORTH DAKOTA ON SUNDAY.
DIFFERENCE ON TIMING WITH MODELS ON BREAKING THE RIDGE DOWN SO
COOLED TEMPERATURES SOME AND WENT WITH SLIGHT CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION. CAMP

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BE 045/025 053/028 045 10000
    CEENE 026/044 025/048 032/055 032/050 029 -2220000022
CTB EE 041/024 051/026 042 10000
    CEENN 023/042 022/046 030/052 030/047 026 02220000022
HLN BE 044/026 053/028 050 10002
    CCEEE 028/044 027/048 028/052 032/048 030 33331100222
BZN BE 045/023 050/027 048 10002
    CEEEE 024/043 023/047 027/050 027/047 027 33332211222
WEY EE 035/010 042/021 037 10414
    SCEEE 021/035 019/037 021/043 021/039 020 66774222344
DLN BE 044/026 053/026 045 10002
    CEEEE 024/041 022/046 026/051 025/049 027 33442211222
HVR EE 047/024 051/025 048 10220
    EEEEE 025/043 025/048 028/052 030/047 028 02220000022
LWT BE 044/023 050/024 046 10000
    CEEEN 024/042 024/046 025/050 032/047 028 22331000022

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 24, 6:20 AM MST, 8 hours 26 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-250110-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
620 AM MST MON MAR 24 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

NO WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES CURRENTLY IN EFFECT

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

A PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO TRACK THROUGH SOUTHWEST
MONTANA TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER...AT THIS
TIME...ANY MEASUREABLE SNOWFALL WILL STAY IN THE MOUNTAINS...AND ANY
AMOUNTS WILL NOT BE SIGNIFICANT. WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL THEN BE
RELATIVELY BENIGN THROUGH SUNDAY. THE ONLY FEATURE OF SIGNIFICANCE
DURING THIS PERIOD WILL BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF GUSTY WEST WINDS ON
SATURDAY...WHICH DO NOT SEEM TO BE HAZARDOUS AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Blaine

When: March 24, 2:46 PM MST
Where: Blaine forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 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: 5345040.