A mid and upper level jet moving over Northwest Montana combined with a tight surface pressure gradient resulted in strong and gusty winds at Glacier National Park the night of 07/29/30 and morning of 07/30/2008.
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The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
A mid and upper level jet moving over Northwest Montana combined with a tight surface pressure gradient resulted in strong and gusty winds at Glacier National Park the night of 07/29/30 and morning of 07/30/2008.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 29, 1:19 PM MST, 8 hours 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 219 PM MDT TUE JUL 29 2008 .DISCUSSION...MID LEVEL CLOUDS APPROACHING SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND EAST CENTRAL IDAHO. THIS MOISTURE ALONG WITH DYNAMIC SUPPORT MAY HELP INITIATE CONVECTION IN THESE AREAS THROUGH SUNSET. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT ANY STORM WHICH DEVELOPS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE STRONG OUTFLOW WINDS AND LITTLE RAINFALL. IN NORTHWEST MONTANA A COLD FRONT IS APPROACHING THE AREA. SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT HAVE STARTED TO PICK UP ON THE RIDGES. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES EXPECT FURTHER STRENGTHENING OF WESTERLY WINDS AT THE SURFACE. GUSTS IN THE 20S TO EVEN 30S ON THE RIDGES ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH LATE EVENING. NOT A LOT OF SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INITIAL FRONTAL PASSAGE AND INCREASE IN CLOUDS THIS EVENING. THIS FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH ALL OF WESTERN MONTANA BY LATE THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. COOLER AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL BRING TEMPERATURES DOWN AROUND 10-15 DEGREES THROUGH THURSDAY. SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE IN WESTERN MONTANA BEHIND THE FRONT ON WEDNESDAY. WEDNESDAY IS EXPECTED TO BE A WINDY DAY ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN MONTANA. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK...ABOUT 100 KNOTS...WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION WEDNESDAY. 40-50 KNOT WINDS AT 700 MB TRANSLATE INTO STRONG WEST WINDS AT THE HIGHEST PEAKS AND UPPER ELEVATION PASSES. WIND GUSTS AS HIGH AS 50 MPH AT TIMES ARE POSSIBLE...MAINLY ALONG THE DIVIDE AND THE GLACIER PARK REGION. THURSDAY MODERATE TO STRONG WESTERLY FLOW CONTINUES. ANOTHER BREEZY TO WINDY DAY IS EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY IN NORTHWEST MONTANA...WITH WINDS NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG AS WEDNESDAY. DRY AND COOL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY...THE MODELS ARE INDICATING THAT THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WILL PRIMARILY REMAIN UNDER WESTERLY UPPER LEVEL FLOW THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER ON FRIDAY WHICH COULD BRING A FEW SHOWERS TO NORTHWEST MONTANA. THE MODELS ARE INDICATING ANOTHER FEATURE SWINGING THROUGH THE REGION ON MONDAY...BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW ON THE STRENGTH AND TIMING OF THIS FEATURE. WESTERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO PICK UP EVERY MID AFTERNOON AND LAST UNTIL EARLY EVENING. TEMPERATURES FOR THE PERIOD SHOULD BE SLIGHTLY BELOW SEASON NORMALS. && .AVIATION...GUSTY WINDS HAVE BEGUN TO GATHER STRENGTH THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT LOCATED IN EASTERN WASHINGTON AT THE MOMENT. EXPECT WINDS TO INCREASE FURTHER JUST AHEAD AND BEHIND THE FRONT AS IT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION DURING THE EVENING HOURS. MOISTURE WILL BE LIMITED WITH SHOWERS THAT PASS TO THE NORTH. THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO THE SOUTH AS CONVECTIVE SHOWERS PUSH EAST-NORTHEAST OUT OF EASTERN OREGON AND ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA THIS EVENING. ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET WITH LINGERING SHOWERS OVERNIGHT IN NORTHWEST MONTANA. WINDS WILL ONCE AGAIN INCREASE WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WITH THE PASSAGE OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH COMBINED WITH A VERY STRONG JET STREAM. && .MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MT...NONE. ID...NONE. && SHORT TERM...RPN LONG TERM....SMITH AVIATION...DEROSA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 958 PM MDT TUE JUL 29 2008 MTZ001-002-301200- KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-WEST GLACIER REGION- 958 PM MDT TUE JUL 29 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT STRONG RIDGE WINDS GUSTING TO 30 MPH WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY STRONG SUSTAINED AND GUSTY WINDS WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS EXPOSED TO WEST WINDS. IN THESE AREAS SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15-30 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 35-50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. GOING TO THE SUN ROAD IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK IS AN AREA SUSCEPTIBLE TO THESE WINDS. .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 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Automated observation station at Logan Pass reported 80 mph wind gusts.
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: 128004.