Name: High Wind in Montana, May 16, 2003
Start: 2003-05-16T11:56
End: 2003-05-16T11:56
Location: Montana

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 64 mph occurred in Great Falls.

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 May 16, 8:30 AM MST, 3 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 8:30 AM MST, 3 hours 26 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
930 AM MDT FRI MAY 16 2003

.SHORT TERM...WILL UPDATE ZONES AND STATE. STRONG WINDS ALONG
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...WITH SHOWERS OCCURRING AT THIS TIME SO
WILL KEEP CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS GOING. WILL
INCREASE WINDS AND CLOUD COVER. DO NOT FEEL WINDS WILL BE IN WARNING
CATEGORY. TEMPERATURES A LITTLE ON THE WARM SIDE WITH COOLER AIR
STILL MOVING IN. WILL DROP TEMPS A FEW DEGREES AND FRESHEN WORDING IN
ALL ZONES. CAMP.

.EXTENDED....EXTENDED...NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED.
MEDIUM RANGE MODELS HAVING DIFFICULTY AGREEING. UPPER TROF EXITING
THE AREA MONDAY WITH HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE. AIRMASS THEN DRIES
TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS FLOW ALOFT BECOMES ZONAL THEN NORTHWEST.
SURFACE GRADIENT SUPPORTS WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE WINDS. WEAK TROF
PASSAGE THURSDAY HINTS AT ISOLATED PRECIPITATION. TEMPERATURES REMAIN
NEAR NORMAL AVERAGES.

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NB 055/031 057/034 048 12000
    EEBBB 032/056 032/060 036/065 040/067 040 03331111122
CTB NB 051/029 054/034 046 12000
    EEBBB 032/054 032/059 036/063 040/063 040 03331111122
HLN BB 058/034 058/035 052 12000
    EBBBB 033/059 035/064 037/067 041/069 041 23332111122
BZN BB 056/030 059/032 052 12000
    EBBBB 030/057 031/060 033/064 038/066 038 23332111122
WEY BB 051/026 058/028 043 12000
    EEBBB 029/047 032/056 036/059 039/059 039 24443111122
DLN BB 058/029 063/030 048 1200-
    EBBBB 030/054 032/060 034/063 039/064 039 23332111122
HVR NB 057/032 059/037 053 12000
    EEBBB 035/058 035/063 039/068 042/069 042 03331111122
LWT BB 055/029 056/034 049 12000
    EEBBB 032/051 033/060 036/064 040/064 040 03332111122

.TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 16, 5:10 AM MST, 6 hours 46 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-170010-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
610 AM MDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Cascade

When: May 16, 11:56 AM MST
Where: Cascade forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 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

More

Every storm in Montana in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, May 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: 5358288.