High Wind in Montana, March 30 to 31, 2003

Name: High Wind in Montana, March 30 to 31, 2003
Start: 2003-03-30T22:00
End: 2003-03-31T04:00
Location: Montana

March 30 to 31, 2003 · NWS TFX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

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 entire Rocky Mountain Front and Eastern Glacier County on the 30th and 31st. The winds were the strongest during the late evening hours on the 30th, through the early morning hours on the 31st. A few power lines were blown down during the early morning hours on the 31st West of Pendroy.Here is a list of some of the peak wind speeds reported on the 30th:East Glacier 2E 65 mph at 2212 MST; and Browning 62 mph at 2200 MST;Here is a list of some of the peak wind speeds reported on the 31st:Pendroy 18W 60 mph at 0200 MST; and Cut Bank 59 mph at 0331 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 30, 8:50 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 8:50 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
850 PM MST SUN MAR 30 2003

WILL UPDATE ZONES AND STATE FORECAST

.SHORT TERM...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IS
FLATTENED OVERNIGHT AS SHORTWAVE ENERGY MOVES OVER THE TOP LATER
TONIGHT. 250 MB JET OVER CANADA SAGS SOUTH AS THIS SHORTWAVE MOVES
THROUGH THE AREA...INCREASING MOUNTAIN TOP WINDS ALONG THE NORTHERN
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW 700 MB WINDS BECOMING
60 TO 70 KTS BY MIDNIGHT. SURFACE WINDS ARE CURRENTLY BELOW HIGH WIND
CRITERIA...BUT OBSERVATIONS SHOW WATERTON GATE AND PINCHER CREEK
INCREASING SUBSTANTIALLY OVER LAST FEW HOURS. WILL THEREFORE EXTEND
THE HIGH WIND WARNING THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. CURRENT
TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING 5 TO 15 DEGREES HIGHER THAN LAST NIGHT.
WINDS AND INCREASING CLOUD COVER WILL LIKELY KEEP TEMPERATURES FAIRLY
WARM...SO WILL UPDATE TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT LOWS AT MANY LOCATIONS.
RADAR SHOWS BAND OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH COLD CLOUD TOPS
CURRENTLY OVER EASTERN WASHINGTON STATE. THESE SHOWERS WILL MOVE EAST
OVERNIGHT...AFFECTING MY ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT ZONES BY MORNING.
CURRENT GRIDS HANDLE THIS NICELY...ZONE FORECAST TEXT HAS NO MENTION.
SO...WILL UPDATE RMF ZONES TO MENTION MOUNTAIN SHOWERS DEVELOPING
LATE TONIGHT. ETA MODEL CONTINUES TO INDICATE A BAND OF FRONTOGENETIC
FORCING EXTENDING ACROSS MY SOUTHWEST ZONES MONDAY NIGHT INTO
TUESDAY...BUT HAS BACKED OFF SIGNIFICANTLY ON QPF AMOUNTS. STILL A
POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW...BUT SITUATION REMAINS TOO
UNCERTAIN TO JUSTIFY ISSUING ANY HIGHLIGHTS AT THIS TIME. MPJ

.EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SHOWING GOOD CONSISTENCY THE LAST FEW
RUNS. UPPER TROUGH OVER PACIFIC NORTHWEST EJECTS SHORTWAVES OVER
MONTANA IN AN UNSTABLE AND MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ON THURSDAY.
THIS WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE PLAINS...
WITH MORE LIKELY PRECIPITATION IN THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS. ONCE THE
SHORTWAVES EXIT THE STATE...A SHORTWAVE RIDGE MOVES INTO THE AREA ON
FRIDAY WITH A DRIER AIRMASS. THIS WILL KEEP THE CHANCE FOR
PRECIPITATION ONLY OVER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS...WHILE TEMPERATURES
WARM ABOUT 5 TO 7 DEGREES OVER THURSDAY. THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TROUGH
THEN DIGS AGAIN ON SATURDAY...BRINGING BACK THE MORE MOIST AND
UNSTABLE SOUTHWEST FLOW...ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS
THE CWA. THE UPPER TROUGH THEN BEGINS TO SHIFT EAST OVER THE STATE ON
SUNDAY FOR COOLING TEMPERATURES. THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION WILL
MOST LIKELY BE CONFINED TO SATURDAY NIGHT...AS A WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGE
MOVES OVER THE AREA DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY. HOWEVER...SKIES WILL
REMAIN MOSTLY CLOUDY.  COULSTON

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NE 050/068 037/052 028 19022
    EEEEE 040/027 044/023 050/025 049/024 047 43333303330
CTB NE 049/058 034/049 022 19022
    EEEEE 036/023 041/022 046/024 044/023 044 43333303330
HLN EE 050/064 038/050 028 19024
    EEEEE 047/030 045/027 048/029 048/028 048 43433333332
BZN EC 041/062 035/051 026 19026
    EEEEE 051/028 044/024 045/025 045/024 045 53433333332
WEY CS 025/053 025/040 018 19026
    SJCJC 039/025 033/026 040/025 035/024 035 65665545553
DLN CC 042/063 034/050 026 19025
    EEEEE 050/031 048/025 048/027 045/026 045 53533333332
HVR NE 048/068 037/052 025 19022
    EEEEE 044/026 044/024 048/026 050/025 048 33333303330
LWT NE 047/066 035/053 027 19022
    EEEEE 044/028 043/025 047/026 049/025 048 33433303330

.TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING CONTINUES OVERNIGHT FOR THE ROCKY
       MOUNTAIN FRONT AND GLACIER COUNTY.

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 30, 6:20 AM MST, 15 hours 40 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-310110-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
620 AM MST SUN MAR 30 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL OCCUR ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND
GLACIER COUNTY TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. A HIGH WIND WARNING
CONTINUES FOR THESE AREAS. PLEASE REFER TO GTFNPWTFX FOR FURTHER
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

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, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: March 30, 10:00 PM MST to March 31, 4:00 AM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: March 30, 10:00 PM MST to March 31, 4:00 AM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Eastern Glacier

When: March 30, 10:00 PM MST to March 31, 4:00 AM MST
Where: Eastern Glacier forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 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: 5345153, 5345154, 5345155.