Low surface pressure moving across southern Canada contributed to gusty 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.
Low surface pressure moving across southern Canada contributed to gusty 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 22, 5:41 AM MST, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 541 AM MST SAT NOV 22 2008 .DISCUSSION... SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...MAIN CONCERN IN THIS PART OF THE FORECAST ARE HIGH WINDS ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT WHERE A HIGH WIND WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT UNTIL LATE THIS MORNING. EXPECT HIGH WINDS TO STAY OVER A CONFINED AREA WITH WIND GUSTS OF 60 TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE AND SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH AS AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE PASSES OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. BY LATE MORNING...FIRST WAVE OF ENERGY WILL EXIT ALLOWING WINDS TO TAPER BELOW WARNING CRITERIA ALONG THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. CURRENT SATELLITE IMAGE INDICATES SOME MIDDLE TO HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE FORECAST AREA WITH LIGHT PRECIPITATION NOTED FARTHER WEST ACROSS EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN IDAHO. DECIDED TO INCREASE POPS ALONG THE NORTHERN ROCKIES IN COORDINATION AS MAIN TROUGH AXIS ARRIVES BY LATE THIS EVENING...HOWEVER DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL LIKELY KEEP NORTHERN MONTANA DRY. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE AT THE BASE OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MAY PRODUCE SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA SO HAVE INCREASED POPS IN THAT AREA AS WELL STARTING LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE VALLEYS THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH RAIN AND/OR SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. ONCE TEMPERATURES DROP THIS EVENING AND WINDS TURN NORTHWEST RAIN SHOWERS WILL MIX WITH OR CHANGEOVER TO SNOW SHOWERS IN THE VALLEYS WITH LIGHT SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS...BUT SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. FEW LINGERING RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA ON SUNDAY AS SHORTWAVE ENERGY PASSES EAST. RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD BY SUNDAY NIGHT WITH QUIET CONDITIONS PREVAILING. MLS MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BE OVER THE ROCKIES MONDAY AND THE AIRMASS WILL BE QUITE WARM...DRY...AND STABLE. A SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH THROUGH THE CANADIAN ROCKIES AND ALBERTA DURING THE DAY. THIS SHOULD NOT AFFECT THE WEATHER IN THE CWA ALTHOUGH IT WILL HELP DEVELOP A SURFACE LEE TROF...AND KICK UP SOME SURFACE WINDS. THE THE RIDGE MOVES OVER EASTERN MONTANA TUESDAY AND WINDS ALOFT SWITCH TO THE SOUTHWEST. THIS BEGINS A SLOW INCREASE IN MOISTURE OVER THE AREA. BY WEDNESDAY...THE LOW PRESSURE TROF WILL HAVE A DEFINITE SPLIT WITH A NORTHERN PORTION IN ALBERTA AND A SOUTHERN...CUT-OFF LOW OVER NEVADA. THIS SOUTHERN SECTION WILL BE SLOW MOVING AND ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GOOD...DEEP MOISTURE PROFILE...BUT FORCING AND LIFT WILL BE WEAK. ON WEDNESDAY...A SURFACE HIGH OVER ALBERTA WILL BRING A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE HILINE. FLOW WILL SWITCH TO THE NORTH AND BEGIN A LENGTHY PERIOD OF UPSLOPE FLOW. SYNOPTIC SUPPORT FOR THIS SYSTEM WILL NOT BE STRONG...HOWEVER...THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL BE SLOW MOVING AND MOISTURE WILL BE AVAILABLE....POSSIBLY WITH PERIODS OF MODERATE SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. ALSO...UPSLOPE FLOW WILL KEEP THE PLAINS UNDER A LENGTHY PERIOD OF LIGHT SNOW. A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREAS ALONG WITH MOIST...UNSETTLED CONDITIONS THROUGH THURSDAY. HOUR TO HOUR ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LOW BUT TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS COULD BE ABOVE SEVERAL INCHES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS...HIGHER IN THE MOUNTAINS. WILL INCLUDE THIS PERIOD OF SNOW IN THE HWO. TEMPS BEGIN THE PERIOD WELL ABOVE NORMALS BUT TRENDS TOWARDS NORMALS BY WEDNESDAY. TEMPS WILL DROP BELOW NORMALS LATE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROF BECOMES COOLS THE AIRMASS. ZELZER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...MODELS CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE HANDLING OF THE BLOCKING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. ECMWF SEEM TO BE CLOSEST TO ENSEMBLES. BOTH GFS AND ECMWF SHOW AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC...EXTENDING INTO MONTANA WITH AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST. SO WILL GO WITH CLOSE TO SEASONAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND MOSTLY DRY CONDITION AT LOWER ELEVATIONS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. WILLIAMSON DC && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1140Z. A STRONG JET ALOFT CROSSING THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WILL CAUSE STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. THIS JET WILL MOVE EAST OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND WINDS WILL DECREASE. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST MONTANA LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL INCREASE THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS SOUTHWEST MONTANA. MVFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED NEAR PRECIPITATION BUT VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ELSEWHERE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 46 25 40 25 / 10 10 0 0 CTB 44 22 42 24 / 10 10 0 0 HLN 45 24 43 28 / 10 10 0 0 BZN 46 24 43 28 / 10 30 10 0 WEY 34 21 32 16 / 20 40 20 0 DLN 43 22 40 24 / 10 20 0 0 HVR 46 19 42 19 / 10 10 0 0 LWT 46 23 40 24 / 10 10 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST THIS MORNING FOR MTZ009. && WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 434 AM MST SAT NOV 22 2008 MTZ009-231145- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 434 AM MST SAT NOV 22 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 11 AM SATURDAY MORNING. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL OCCUR OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT INCLUDING MOUNTAIN PASSES AND RIDGE TOPS. WIND GUSTS UP TO 70 MILES PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE AND IN AREAS WHERE SNOW IS PRESENT...VISIBILITIES MAY BE REDUCED. WINDS WILL DECREASE BELOW WARNING CRITERIA THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. PERIODS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY. TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS...2 TO 4 INCHES ELSEWHERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ008-010>015-044>055-231145- BEAVERHEAD-EASTERN GLACIER-HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY- EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER- GALLATIN- 434 AM MST SAT NOV 22 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. PERIODS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY. TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS...2 TO 4 INCHES ELSEWHERE. .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 67 mph was reported at Heart Butte. Additionally, a gust to 62 mph was reported at Browning and a gust to 71 mph was reported at Babb.
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: 139800.