An unseasonably strong area of low pressure in lower Saskatchewan delivered well below normal temperatures with strong northwest winds to northeast Montana. Here is a list of peak wind gusts across the area: Glendive Airport: 51 mph, Lindsay: 50 mph, South Sawmill Creek: 53 mph, Jordan Airport: 51 mph, Fort Peck Dam: 54 mph, 10 miles south of Vida: 50 mph, 1 mile west of Zortman: 51 mph, 28…
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
An unseasonably strong area of low pressure in lower Saskatchewan delivered well below normal temperatures with strong northwest winds to northeast Montana. Here is a list of peak wind gusts across the area: Glendive Airport: 51 mph, Lindsay: 50 mph, South Sawmill Creek: 53 mph, Jordan Airport: 51 mph, Fort Peck Dam: 54 mph, 10 miles south of Vida: 50 mph, 1 mile west of Zortman: 51 mph, 28 miles northwest of Terry: 54 mph, 28 miles north-northeast of Wolf Point: 55 mph, 7 miles east of Bainville: 50 mph, 33 miles southwest of Glasgow: 51 mph. The Montana Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament on Fort Peck Lake had to be delayed by one day for the safety of the tournament participants.
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 Jul 11, 8:51 AM MST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 951 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2008 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY... COLD FRONT HAS MOVED INTO NORTH DAKOTA WITH UPPER LOW SPINNING FROM ALBERTA INTO SASKATCHEWAN. TIGHT GRADIENT ACROSS MONTANA ALONG WITH JET ALOFT...PRODUCING VERY STRONG WINDS AS THE LOW LEVELS BECOME MIXED THIS MORNING. AREA OF LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST ZONES ON THE NOSE OF THE COLDEST AIR... SO HAVE ADJUSTED CLOUD COVER AND POPS TO MATCH. ALSO LOWERED TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY FOR THE NORTHWEST ZONES AS CLOUDS AND COLD AIR ADVECTION WILL IMPACT WARMING. EBERT PREVIOUS SHORT TERM DISCUSSION...THE JETSTREAM IS VERY WELL DEVELOPED AND MORE ACTIVE THAN NORMAL FOR JULY ACROSS NE MT AND EXTREME S CANADA...UP TO 110 KT AT 250 MB THIS MORN. THIS PATTERN IN JULY TENDS TO BE ON THE DRY SIDE THOUGH...WITH QUICK TEMP CHANGES IN ALTERNATING SHORT HOT AND COOL SPELLS. THE SHORT 2 DAY HOT SPELL IS OVER DUE TO A SHARP COLD FRONT THAT HAS MOVED SE ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT. THE FRONT IS UNUSUALLY STRONG FOR JULY...WITH THICKNESSES DROPPING FROM THE UPPER 570S YESTERDAY TO THE 550S TODAY. THIS WILL TRANSLATE TO HIGHS THAT ARE 20-25F COOLER TODAY. 3 AM TEMPS UNUSUALLY COOL FOR MID-JULY TO OUR W AND NW...ONLY IN THE LOWER 40S IN S AB INTO NC MT. TEMPS LOCALLY TO FALL ALL MORN IN STRONG COOL ADVECTION. THIS MOSTLY ENDS BY NOON...WITH MODELS SHOWING SOME 850 MB TEMPS AS LOW AS 6C IN OUR AREA 18Z TODAY. A STRONG UPPER TROUGH...IS SEEN HAVING A CIRCULATION ON SATELLITE CHANNELS MOVING ESE IN S AB. THE ARRIVING AIRMASS IS MUCH COOLER...BUT MOISTER AND MORE UNSTABLE TOO. MOISTURE IS SPARSE WITH THIS FRONT THOUGH...BEST CHANCE OF ANY IS WITH THE UPPER TROUGH MOVING ACROSS OUR AREA TODAY. MUCH OF THE MOISTURE STAYS IN CANADA...BUT THERE IS A SHORT WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR SCATTERED TSTORMS TO REACH INTO OUR MOST N ZONES TODAY...BUT NOT MUCH CHANCE S OF MISSOURI RIVER. QPF IS 1 TO 2 TENTHS IN OUR MOST N ZONES. MODELS FORECAST INSTABILITY SUPPORTING JUST WEAK AND ISOLATED TSTORM ACTIVITY AT BEST. MODELS ALL SHOW PLENTIFUL 35-40 KTS WINDS 850-700 MB TODAY...WITH A SPOT HERE AND THERE UP TO 50 KT...BUT THATS MOSTLY THIS MORN BEFORE WE MIX TO THAT DEPTH. MODELS MUCH MORE CONSISTENT ON SPEEDS TODAY THAN YESTERDAY. VERY IMPRESSIVE COLD ADVECTION PATTERN...DEEP MIXING ...AND A FAST MOVING SYSTEM FAVOR MAXIMUM MIXING POTENTIAL AND WINDS WITH THE EXPECTED STEEP LAPSES RATES OF JULY. HOWEVER THAT POTENTIAL LOOKS A LITTLE TOO LOW FOR A HIGH WIND WARNING. WOULD LIKE TO SEE MOS OVER 30 KT FOR WARNING CONSIDERATION...BUT ONLY A COUPLE SPOTS HIT 30. WILL FOREGO THE WARNING ALTHOUGH A VERY WINDY DAY EXPECTED WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH...AS A SYNOPTIC SCALE HIGH WIND WARNING A RARE EVENT IN JULY. UPPER TROUGH QUICKLY EXITS NE MT LATE AFTERNOON ENDING PRECIP CHANCES. WINDS DIMINISH BUT KEEP UP ENOUGH FRI NIGHT TO PREVENT ANY US USUALLY COLD LOWS. MODELS SHOW NW WINDS 20-30KT AT 850 MB SAT...SO LAKE WIND ADVISORY AGAIN LOOKS PROBABLE. MOST MODELS HAVE DRY NW FLOW ALOFT ALTHOUGH SLIGHTLY CYCLONIC YET. NAM HAS A WEAK SECONDARY DISTURBANCE FROM NW SAT MORN...OTHER MODELS LITTLE OR NONE. SUNDAY WE SEE THE EFFECTS OF UPPER RIDGING BUILDING IN FROM THE NW WITH SUNNY AND WARMER WEATHER...LESS WIND. A WEAK DISTURBANCE MOVES JUST N OF CANADA BORDER IN AFTERNOON...NAM ALONE AGAIN LOOKS JUST A LITTLE MORE THREATENING WITH IT. SIMONSEN .LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY... EXTENDED MODELS SHOWING A BIT OF A DIFFERENT LOOK THIS RUN WITH UPPER FLOW NOW EXPECTED TO BE MORE ZONAL THAN BEFORE FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. WEAK TRANSITORY RIDGE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FLATTENS TO ZONAL FOR THE AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. A DISTURBANCE MOVING EAST ACROSS CANADA MAY DROP FAR ENUF SOUTH TO CLIP THE NORTHERN ZONES WITH A SHOWER OR STORM. FLOW REMAINS MORE OR LESS ZONAL TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A FAST MOVING DISTURBANCE IS THEN EXPECTED TO CROSS THE AREA LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR THURSDAY. WILL ADD SOME SMALL POPS TO THURSDAY FOR THIS AT THIS POINT AND WAIT AND SEE SUBSEQUENT RUNS IN AN ATTEMPT TO REFINE TIMING. ANOTHER WEAK UPPER RIDGE THEN MOVES IN FOR FRIDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE FAST MOVING TROF. A LOW-LEVEL THERMAL RIDGE FOR MONDAY WILL BUMP TEMPERATURES UP TO THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S. AFTER THAT THE ZONAL FLOW WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES WITHIN A DEGREE OR TWO OF NORMAL FOR MOST OF THE REST OF THE WEEK AS NO SIGNIFICANT FRONTS ARE SEEN. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL THRU THE WEEKEND. A COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE AREA IS RESULTING IN STRONG AND GUSTY NORTH WIND. THIS WIND WILL BACK SLIGHTLY TO NORTHWEST FOR TODAY AND INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 KT. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN A POSSIBILITY TODAY...ANY OF WHICH COULD DROP CONDITIONS BELOW VFR SHOULD A STORM PASS OVER A TAF SITE. WIND WILL ABATE THIS EVENING TOWARD SUNSET AND DECREASE TO LESS THAN 10 KT TONIGHT...THEN INCREASE AGAIN SATURDAY MORNING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND SITUATION LOOKS MUCH MORE FRIENDLY FOR SUNDAY WITH WIND GENERALLY WEST SOUTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR FORT PECK LAKE. && WEATHER.GOV/GLASGOW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 414 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2008 MTZ017-022-023-121015- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY-GARFIELD-MCCONE- 414 AM MDT FRI JUL 11 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A LAKE WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR FORT PECK LAKE...UNTIL 9 PM. NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 30 TO 40 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO AS HIGH AS 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
This report was taken from the mesonet site east of the Fort Peck Dam. A boat near Fort Peck Lake was damaged from flying debris.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, July 2008
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: 116065.