High Wind in Montana, November 29, 2003

Name: High Wind in Montana, November 29, 2003
Start: 2003-11-29T12:54
End: 2003-11-29T15:59
Location: Montana

November 29, 2003 · NWS TFX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A high wind event occurred along the Rocky Mountain Front on the 29th. Reported peak wind speeds include: 75 mph at Pendroy 7S and 60 mph at Two Medicine.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 along the Rocky Mountain Front on the 29th. Reported peak wind speeds include: 75 mph at Pendroy 7S and 60 mph at Two Medicine.

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 Nov 29, 9:15 AM MST, 3 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 29, 9:15 AM MST, 3 hours 39 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
915 AM MST SAT NOV 29 2003

UPDATED ZONES AND STATE BY 1000 AM

.DISCUSSION...CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK...WITH ONLY MINOR
CHANGES. REMOVED CHANCE FOR MORNING PREICIP IN THE HAVRE AND
LEWISTOWN AREAS...WHILE INCREASED CHANCE FOR RAIN AND SNOW OVER THE
SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. SNOW CONTINUES TO FALL OVER THE
SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT ABOVE 5500 FEET...WITH A RAIN AND SNOW
MIX BELOW THAT. SO WARNING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 4 PM WITH TOTAL SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS TODAY OF 4 TO 8 INCHES. TEMPERATURES LOOK ON TRACK.
WITH A MILD START IN MANY AREAS...SHOULD WARM UP NICELY.

DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL BECOME STRONG AGAIN OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT THIS AFTERNOON...AS A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN
EFFECT. THESE STRONG WINDS MAY MAKE IT INTO THE CUT BANK AREA...AND
THIS WILL BE WATCHED CLOSELY AS IT IS NOT IN A WARNING AT THIS TIME.
EXPECT THE PRECIP TO GRADUALLY COME TO AN END OVER THE ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT THIS EVENING...WITH MOSTLY DRY WEATHER AND LIGHT
WINDS EXPECTED ACROSS THE REGION FOR SUNDAY. BRUSDA

UPDATED
.CCF NUMBERS
GTF BB 054/025 041/022 046 10000
    EBEBB 032/050 029/037 019/033 022/045 024 02200000000
CTB NB 049/022 040/019 042 10000
    ENEBN 028/050 026/036 015/032 019/042 020 02200200--0
HLN EB 054/024 040/021 044 10100
    EBEBB 026/049 026/038 019/033 023/044 023 1320-020000
BZN EB 051/023 040/021 044 10310
    EBBBB 025/044 020/038 013/031 017/044 018 23200020000
WEY JB 040/017 033/015 036 10634
    EBBBB 023/038 018/030 009/028 019/037 011 3530-12000-
DLN WB 050/023 039/021 043 10621
    EBEBE 026/045 023/038 015/031 019/040 024 3420--200--
HVR BB 047/021 039/018 041 10000
    BBBBB 020/049 024/043 017/033 019/037 021 02200-00000
LWT BB 051/025 041/023 046 10000
    EBBBB 028/048 025/038 016/033 021/043 022 02200000000

.TFX...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN
       FRONT THRU 4 PM TODAY...
    ...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT (ZONE
       9) THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH 10 PM MST THIS EVENING.

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 29, 9:30 AM MST, 3 hours 24 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-301310-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
930 AM MST SAT NOV 29 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT
UNTIL 10 PM MST THIS EVENING. SEE PRODUCT GTFNPWTFX FOR DETAILS.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT ABOVE
5500 FEET CONTINUES THROUGH 400 PM MST TODAY. SEE PRODUCT GTFWSWTFX
FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

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

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: November 29, 12:54 PM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: November 29, 3:59 PM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 66 kt (76 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, November 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: 5332049, 5332050.