Strong westerly winds aloft produced gusty surface winds along the Northern Rocky Mountain Front. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were reported.
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 TFX wrote it up.
Strong westerly winds aloft produced gusty surface winds along the Northern Rocky Mountain Front. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were reported.
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 18, 11:30 AM MST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1130 AM MST TUE NOV 18 2008 ...UPDATE TO AVIATION... .DISCUSSION... UPDATE FORTHCOMING AS SKY CONDITION GRIDS HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT ALTERED. RATHER FLAT UPPER RIDGE WILL PERSIST OVER THE AREA TODAY WITH PLENTY OF MID AND HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE MOVING THROUGH THE RIDGE POSITION. THE SURFACE GRADIENT REMAINS TIGHT NEAR GLACIER PARK AND WINDS HAVE BEEN GUSTY AT TIMES. WILL LEAVE HIGH WIND WARNING IN PLACE FOR NOW BUT WILL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE AS THE MORNING WEARS ON. IT APPEARS THIS SITUATION WILL REMAIN MARGINAL. EMANUEL && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1830Z. A STRONG WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING BROKEN HIGH CLOUDINESS AND VFR CONDITIONS TO NORTH CENTRAL...CENTRAL...AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA INTO THIS EVENING. BREEZY WESTERLY WINDS WILL MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MONTANA. GUSTS THERE WILL UP TO 40 KT...WHILE GUSTS OF 45 TO 65 KT ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER WILL MOVE SOUTH THROUGH NORTH CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MONTANA THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...DECREASING THE WINDS AND SHIFTING THEM MORE NORTHERLY. WINDS WILL INITIALLY BEGIN TO SHIFT AFTER 03Z ALONG THE BORDER...PROGRESSING SOUTH THROUGH THE KCTB AND KHVR TERMINALS BY 07Z THEN THROUGH THE KLWT AND KGTF TERMINALS BY 09Z. MID LEVEL CLOUDS WILL INCREASE IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT...THEN LOWER CLOUDS WITH HIGH MVFR CONDITIONS AND OCCASIONAL PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT AS A DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH THE FLOW ALOFT. THE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL MOVE INTO THE KHLN TERMINAL AREA AS WELL AFTER 09Z...BUT THE KBZN TERMINAL SHOULD AVOID THESE CONDITIONS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED 400 AM MST TUE NOV 18 2008 TODAY...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE BUILDING OVER THE REGION TODAY. THUS MOSTLY DRY AND UNSEASONABLY MILD AIR CAN BE EXPECTED TO RESIDE OVER THE AREA. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR RECORD HIGHS IN MANY AREAS...WITH A FEW RECORDS LIKELY BE SET. GREAT FALLS HAS THE BEST CHANCE AT SEEING A NEW RECORD. WINDS HAVE BEEN SLOW TO PICK UP OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...BUT THEY HAVE BEEN STARTED TO GUST OVER 40 MPH IN THE PAST HOUR NEAR THE DIVIDE. WITH STRONG WINDS STILL EXPECTED LATER THIS MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS...THE HIGH WIND WARNING WILL REMAIN IN PLACE FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND THE CUT BANK AREA. FOR TONIGHT...THE NEXT CANADIAN COLD FRONT BEGINS TO PUSH SOUTHWARD INTO THE AREA. EXPECT THE COLD FRONT TO BE NEAR A GREAT FALLS TO LEWISTOWN LINE BY 6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. THUS A FAIRLY MILD NIGHT CAN BE EXPECTED FOR LOCATIONS SOUTH OF GREAT FALLS...WITH TEMPERATURES COOLING OFF QUICKLY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS NEAR THE DIVIDE. FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...EXPECT A BAND OF PRECIPITATION TO DEVELOP ALONG THE COLD FRONT ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AS IT MOVES SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE REGION. BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN SO MILD...A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW IS EXPECTED AT LOWER ELEVATIONS...WITH MAINLY SNOW FALLING ABOVE 5000 FEET. THIS AREA OF PRECIP WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT MUCH OF CENTRAL MONTANA ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...BEFORE DIMINISHING LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIP WILL START TO AFFECT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT BY LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON...AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO COOL OFF TO MORE SEASONABLE READINGS...WITH MORNING LOWS COLDER THAN THEY HAVE BEEN OF RECENT...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE US/CANADIAN BORDER. BRUSDA THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...MODELS START OFF THE PERIOD IN DECENT AGREEMENT BRINGING SHORTWAVE ENERGY AND AN ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT THROUGH CENTRAL MONTANA THURSDAY EVENING. HAVE INCREASED POPS ACROSS THE REGION FOR THIS TIME FRAME AND HAVE ALSO LOWERED FRIDAY HIGH TEMPERATURES SEVERAL DEGREES. MODELS SIGNIFICANTLY DIVERGE BEYOND FRIDAY AND THERE IS VERY LOW CONFIDENCE IN ANY GIVEN SOLUTION FOR THIS TIME FRAME. AS A RESULT I HAVE MADE ONLY MINOR CHANGES TO THE FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEKEND AND AM KEEPING POPS FAIRLY CLOSE TO CLIMATOLOGY. MPJ MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...MODEL DIFFERENCES DURING THIS PERIOD CONTINUE TO DETRACT FROM FORECAST CONFIDENCE. A COMPROMISE WAS USED LEANING TOWARD THE ECMWF SOLUTION...BECAUSE OF BETTER RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST DRIFTS TOWARD WESTERN MONTANA DURING THIS PERIOD. THIS RESULTS IN A NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE REGION. WEAK DISTURBANCES IN THIS FLOW WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND A CHANCE OF MAINLY MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS. DOWNSLOPE WINDS SHOULD RESTRICT PRECIPITATION OVER THE PLAINS AND LARGER VALLEYS TO JUST A FEW RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS. MILD AIR WITH THIS SYSTEM SHOULD RESULT IN TEMPERATURES THAT ARE SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES. EK && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 67 34 41 24 / 0 10 20 20 CTB 62 30 40 20 / 0 10 20 20 HLN 61 34 47 29 / 0 0 30 20 BZN 63 35 50 29 / 0 0 10 30 WEY 48 25 44 23 / 0 0 0 10 DLN 62 34 53 28 / 0 0 10 10 HVR 64 29 38 16 / 0 10 20 10 LWT 66 32 40 22 / 0 10 30 20 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR MTZ009-010- 048. && SHORT TERM...EMANUEL/BRUSDA LONG TERM...MPJ/EK AVIATION...COULSTON WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 447 AM MST TUE NOV 18 2008 MTZ009-010-048-191200- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN GLACIER- SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 447 AM MST TUE NOV 18 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND THE CUT BANK AREA UNTIL 5 PM TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY 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. MTZ008-011>015-044>047-049>055-191200- BEAVERHEAD-HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY- EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS- JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 447 AM MST TUE NOV 18 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY 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.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 63 mph was reported at the Two Medicine DOT site. Additionally, a wind gust to 70 mph was reported St Mary 13W (Logan Pass).
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, November 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: 139795.