High Wind in Montana, November 2, 2004

Name: High Wind in Montana, November 2, 2004
Start: 2004-11-02T01:00
End: 2004-11-02T16:00
Location: Montana

November 2, 2004 · NWS TFX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A high wind event occurred over a large area of North Central Montana on the 2nd. Reported peak wind speeds include: 97 mph at St Mary 13W, 96 mph at East Glacier Park 11SE, 81 mph at East Glacier Park 2E, 65 mph at Choteau 1NE, 60 mph at Eden 10SW, 60 mph at Agawam, 59 mph at Loma 1N and 59 mph at Cut Bank.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

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 1, 8:30 PM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 1, 8:30 PM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MONTANA
830 PM MST MON NOV 1 2004

.UPDATE...A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH CONTINUES TO DEVELOP IN ALBERTA AND
CENTRAL MONTANA THIS EVENING. WINDS ARE GRADUALLY INCREASING IN SPEED
ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND ARE EXPECTED TO REACH HIGH WIND
CRITERIA BY MORNING. MODELS DEPICT STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION AT 850
MB AND OBSERVED TEMPERATURES IN SOME LOCATIONS HAVE REMAINED STEADY
OR EVEN INCREASED A DEGREE OR TWO THIS EVENING. UPDATE WILL INCREASE
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN NORTH CENTRAL
MONTANA BY 4 TO 6 DEGREES. REMIAINDER OF FORECAST PACKAGE LOOKS TO BE
IN GOOD SHAPE. MPJ

&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED AT 238 PM MST MON NOV 1 2004

TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER WESTERN PORTION OF
STATE WITH WARM AIR CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION SPILLING OVER THE
NORTHERN PORTION OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. MAIN CONCERN TONIGHT
WILL BE WITH THE STRONG SURFACE GRADIENT AS PACIFIC COLD FRONT
APPROACHES CWA. HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
THROUGH TOMORROW EVENING. MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF SOME ON STRENGTH OF
WINDS BUT WITH WARM TEMPERATURES ON TUESDAY AND GOOD MIXING TO
SURFACE EXPECT TO SEE SOME VERY GUSTY WINDS OVER MOST OF THE NORTHERN
AND CENTRAL ZONES. SNOW LEVELS FALL OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN
FRONT FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW FALL AMOUNTS. WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS
IN EFFECT FOR TUESDAY WITH SNOW AMOUNTS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.

TUESDAY NIGHT WILL SEE THE COLD FRONT EXIT THE CWA WITH THE UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH MOVING THROUGH BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. MOSTLY CLOUDY
CONDITIONS WITH SOME UPSLOPE PRECIPITATION WILL LINGER UNTIL TROF
PASSES BY AND WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES COOLER THAN NORMAL. CAMP

THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A
MAJOR CHANGE IN THE OVERALL PATTERN WITH THE LONGWAVE TROUGH SHIFTING
TO THE EASTERN CONUS AND AN UPPER RIDGE OFF THE WEST COAST EARLY IN
THE PERIOD...MOVING ONSHORE BY THE WEEKEND. ONLY MINOR DIFFERENCES
AMONG THE MODELS...MAINLY WITH RESPECT TO THE AMOUNT OF AMPLIFICATION
OF THE WESTERN UPPER RIDGE...SO HAVE MADE VERY LITTLE CHANGE FROM THE
PREVIOUS FORECAST. NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL DOMINATE THROUGH THE
PERIOD WITH ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKY
MTN FRONT AS WEAK ENERGY MOVES THROUGH THE FLOW. TEMPERATURES WILL
WARM FROM NEAR SEASONAL VALUES THURSDAY TO ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES BY
SATURDAY AS THE RIDGE MOVES ONSHORE WITH DOWNSLOPE WINDS CONTINUING
OVER THE PLAINS. HOENISCH

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GTF NE 037/058 028/040 026 07003
    BBBBU 047/030 053/032 056/032 056/032 057 30000000000
CTB NE 035/053 026/038 025 07004
    BNBUU 044/028 051/030 054/029 054/029 055 30000000000
HLN EE 032/054 034/042 023 07024
    BBBUU 040/024 047/028 052/027 052/027 053 41000000000
BZN EE 020/052 030/042 013 07003
    BBBBU 042/012 042/017 050/022 052/025 052 32000000000
WEY EJ 015/036 020/035 014 07025
    BUBBU 037/010 041/015 045/020 047/021 048 62000000000
DLN EE 020/052 030/041 014 07016
    BBBUU 043/012 045/018 051/021 051/025 052 42000000000
HVR NE 032/059 027/039 020 07003
    BBBBU 045/025 049/029 051/026 050/026 051 30000000000
LWT NE 026/055 032/040 022 07002
    BBBBU 039/023 048/027 052/025 051/025 051 30000000000

&&

.TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET TUESDAY FOR
THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT.
.HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING FOR NORTH
CENTRAL MONTANA.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 1, 5:45 AM MST, 19 hours 15 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED ZONE CODING AND EXPIRATION TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
545 AM MST MON NOV 1 2004

MTZ009>013-044>046-048>049-021210-
NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN
GLACIER-HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU-TOOLE-LIBERTY-EASTERN PONDERA-SOUTHERN
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN TETON-
525 AM MST MON NOV 1 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT FOR
MIDNIGHT TONIGHT THROUGH MIDNIGHT TUESDAY NIGHT HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO
A WINTER STORM WARNING. PLEASE REFER TO GTFWSWTFX FOR FURTHER
DETAILS.

THE HIGH WIND WATCH FOR MOST OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FOR MIDNIGHT
TONIGHT THROUGH 10 PM MST TUESDAY HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO A HIGH WIND
WARNING. PLEASE REFER TO GTFNPWTFX FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE WINTER STORM WARNING (GTFWSWTFX) FOR THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN
FRONT AND THE HIGH WIND WARNING (GTFNPWTFX) FOR MOST OF NORTH
CENTRAL MONTANA CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING.

OTHERWISE...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.

MTZ008-014-015-047-050>055-021210-
BEAVERHEAD-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND
CLARK-MADISON-BLAINE-JUDITH
BASIN-FERGUS-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN-
545 AM MST MON NOV 1 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST AND PORTIONS OF
NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

WIDESPREAD SNOW WILL DEVELOP OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHWEST MONTANA LATER TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY NIGHT.
WESTERLY WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE OVER ALL OF NORTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHWEST MONTANA DURING THIS TIME...CAUSING AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW
IN THE MOUNTAINS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE WESTERLY WINDS AND MOUNTAIN SNOW TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WILL
DECREASE WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

OTHERWISE...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

9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: November 2, 1:00 AM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 84 kt (97 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Cascade

When: November 2, 2:30 AM MST
Where: Cascade forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Eastern Glacier

When: November 2, 9:57 AM MST
Where: Eastern Glacier forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Eastern Teton

When: November 2, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Eastern Teton forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Toole

When: November 2, 12:00 PM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Toole forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Liberty

When: November 2, 12:00 PM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Liberty forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Hill

When: November 2, 1:00 PM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Hill forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: November 2, 1:00 PM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Chouteau

When: November 2, 1:40 PM MST
Where: Chouteau forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, November 2004

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: 5426272, 5426270, 5426273, 5426271, 5426274, 5426275, 5426267, 5426268, 5426269.