Strong gradient winds on the back side of a strong low pressure system in western Minnesota, produced sustained wind speeds of 30 to 45 mph with occasional gusts to 50 to 55 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS GGW wrote it up.
Strong gradient winds on the back side of a strong low pressure system in western Minnesota, produced sustained wind speeds of 30 to 45 mph with occasional gusts to 50 to 55 mph.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 1:18 AM MST, 7 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 218 AM MDT MON MAY 31 2004 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... MODELS QUITE SIMILAR WITH FEATURES SURFACE AND ALOFT THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE GFS/UKMET HOLD ONTO MORE TROUGHINESS THAN THE ETA/GLOBAL ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST BY WEDNESDAY MORNING...BUT OTHERWISE DIFFERENCES ARE MINOR. AN UPPER TROUGH ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS TO GRADUALLY BE REPLACED BY AN UPPER RIDGE BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. TEMPERATURES TO MODERATE TO SEASONABLE LEVELS BY WEDNESDAY. ASIDE FROM THE CHANCE OF A SHOWER TODAY ACROSS OUR EASTERN ZONES IT LOOKS LIKE A DRY STRETCH OF WEATHER. TODAY...VERTICALLY STACKED LOW NEAR GRAND FORKS EARLY THIS MORNING TO DRIFT VERY SLOWLY SOUTHEAST TODAY. A SURFACE RIDGE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. THE MAIN AFFECT FROM THE DEPARTING LOW WILL BE TO KEEP TEMPERATURES ON THE COOL SIDE OF NORMAL AND PRODUCE STRONG WIND. THE 00Z KGGW SOUNDING LAST EVENING INDICATED THAT WE MIXED DRY ADIABATICALLY TO AROUND 700H...AND SIMILAR MIXING IS EXPECTED TODAY. 30-45KT WINDS FROM 700-850H SHOULD MIX DOWN AND PRODUCE WINDS SIMILAR TO OR PERHAPS A TAD STRONGER THAN SUNDAY. UNLIKELY TO REACH TO WARNING CRITERIA...BUT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 35 MPH WITH SOME GUSTS TO 45 TO 50 MPH ARE A GOOD BET...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS FROM ABOUT GLASGOW EAST. SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM REACHING LAKE WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA ON FORT PECK LAKE...AND THE WIND WILL LIKELY ALREADY BE BLOWING AT ADVISORY CRITERIA BY 7 OR 8 AM IN THE MORNING. THE AIRMASS WILL BE SIMILAR TO SUNDAY...AND WILL BE USING SUNDAYS MAXIMA GRID TO FORMULATE THE HIGH TEMPERATURE GRID FOR TODAY WITH JUST A COUPLE OF MINOR TWEAKS. ANY SHOWER THREAT SHOULD BE CONFINED TO OUR NORTHEAST ZONES THIS AFTERNOON CLOSEST TO THE MOISTURE SOURCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW. WILL DROP THE MENTION OF SHOWERS FOR THIS MORNING...AND TRIM BACK THE POPS JUST A BIT FURTHER EAST DURING THE AFTERNOON. WILL ALSO MAKE SOME TWEAKS TO THE SKY GRIDS TODAY. BASED ON SATELLITE AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS LOOKS LIKE A MOSTLY SUNNY START TO THE DAY ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA. ENOUGH INSTABILITY CU WILL POP UP IN THE AFTERNOON ACROSS OUR EASTERN ZONES THAT IT WILL BECOME P/CLOUDY. TONIGHT...SHAPING UP TO BE A DRY AND COOL NIGHT ACROSS NORTHEAST MONTANA. THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD DECOUPLE QUICKLY AROUND SUNSET ALLOWING THE WIND TO DROP UP RAPIDLY TOWARD SUNSET. THE WIND MAY REMAIN A BIT ON THE BREEZY SIDE ACROSS OUR FAR EASTERN ZONES TILL ABOUT MIDNIGHT. CURRENT EXPIRATION TIME OF THE LAKE WIND ADVISORY AT 8 PM LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE. WILL LINGER THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF A SHOWER UNTIL ABOUT 8 PM ACROSS OUR NORTHEAST ZONES...BUT ANY ISOLATED SHOWERS THAT ARE OUT THERE SHOULD DIE OUT QUICKLY AS THEY DID SUNDAY EVENING. MOST OF THE AREA WILL HAVE A M/CLEAR SKY...BUT ENOUGH INSTABILITY CLOUDS DURING THE EVENING AND MID/UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER TO GO P/CLOUDY. EXPECT MOST SPOTS TO DROP WELL DOWN THROUGH THE 40S...AND SOME OF THE DEEPER VALLEYS MAY EVEN DROP INTO THE UPPER 30S FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS PRIOR TO SUNRISE. TUESDAY...LOOKING LIKE A NICE START TO THE MONTH OF JUNE. THE UPPER LOW PULLS FURTHER EAST WHILE AN UPPER RIDGE DUMBBELLS AROUND THE LOW AND INTO MANITOBA. A WEAK SURFACE RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THE AIRMASS WILL BE WARMER AND MORE STABLE. SCATTERED INSTABILITY CU MAY POP UP IN THE AFTERNOON ACROSS OUR EASTERN ZONES...BUT OTHERWISE WOULD NOT EXPECT MUCH IN THE WAY OF CLOUDS AND HAVE AGAIN LOWERED THE CLOUD COVER A BIT IN THE SKY GRIDS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE A FEW DEGREES WARMER THAN MONDAY AND A FEW OF THE NORMALLY WARMER SPOTS ACROSS OUR WEST AND SOUTHWEST ZONES WILL LIKELY TOP 70F. TUE NIGHT & WEDNESDAY...THE PLEASANT LATE SPRING WEATHER TO CONTINUE. ANOTHER CLEAR AND COOL NIGHT AS A SURFACE RIDGE DROPS DOWN INTO EASTERN MONTANA. A SORT OF UNUSUAL SET UP ALOFT WITH THE MID/UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS FROM CANADA. THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO WARM WEDNESDAY AND JUST ABOUT ALL OF THE CWA SHOULD SEE HIGHS INTO THE 70S. CB .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY... MEDIUM RANGE MODELS BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT ARE SHOWING AN UPPER TROUGH ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD AND A CUT-OFF LOW ROLLING INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA. A BROAD RIDGE EXTENDS BETWEEN THE TWO TROUGHS WITH THE JET STREAM AND DISTURBANCES REMAINING WELL TO OUR NORTH. SOME CLOUDINESS DOES LOOK TO DROP THROUGH THE AREA FROM TIME TO TIME THROUGH SATURDAY...BUT MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS LOOK TOO SCANT TO MENTION PRECIPITATION AT THIS POINT. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH AN UPPER RIDGE TO POKE INTO THE AREA ABOUT SATURDAY BEFORE THE CUT-OFF LOW SENDS A COLD FRONT INTO THE AREA ABOUT SUNDAY NIGHT. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN WAVERING ON THE TIMING AND THE STRENGTH OF THIS FEATURE...SO WILL WAIT FOR ANOTHER MODEL RUN TO PAINT POPS INTO THE GRIDS FOR SUNDAY NIGHT. OTHERWISE...TEMPERATURES SHOULD WARM INTO 70S THROUGH SATURDAY...THEN NEAR 80 BEFORE THE COLD FRONT ARRIVES SUNDAY. WITH THE WARMTH AND DRIER CONDITIONS TO ARRIVE...FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS COULD CREEP BACK INTO THE PICTURE SUNDAY IF WINDS WERE TO COUPLE WITH THE EXPECTED LOWERING HUMIDITIES. JAMBA && .GGW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...LAKE WIND ADVISORY FOR FORT PECK LAKE TODAY. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 555 AM MDT MON MAY 31 2004 MTZ016>027-059>062-011200- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY-DANIELS- DAWSON-EASTERN ROOSEVELT-GARFIELD-MCCONE-NORTHERN PHILLIPS- NORTHERN VALLEY-PETROLEUM-PRAIRIE-RICHLAND-SHERIDAN- SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS-WESTERN ROOSEVELT-WIBAUX- 555 AM MDT MON MAY 31 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA .DAY ONE... A LAKE WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM. PLEASE SEE GTFNPWGGW OR WWUS75 KGGW FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. TFJ
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, May 2004
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: 5393651, 5393649, 5393650.