High Wind in Montana, January 12 to 13, 2009

Name: High Wind in Montana, January 12 to 13, 2009
Start: 2009-01-12T23:00
End: 2009-01-13T09:00
Location: Montana

January 12 to 13, 2009 · NWS TFX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Low pressure moving across southern Canada contributed to high winds along the Rocky Mountain Front. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were reported.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Low pressure moving across southern Canada contributed to high winds along the Rocky Mountain Front. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were reported.

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 Jan 12, 4:40 PM MST, 6 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 12, 4:40 PM MST, 6 hours 20 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 12, 4:58 PM MST, 6 hours 2 minutes before

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Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 12, 11:00 PM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

A wind gust to 58 mph was reported at Heart Butte.

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 13, 4:00 AM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

A wind gust to 65 mph was reported at Bynum 15WNW (the Dellwo MCSCN station).

High Wind, Eastern Glacier

When: January 13, 6:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where: Eastern Glacier forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Sustained wind speeds of 40 mph were reported at the Cut Bank ASOS site.

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 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, January 2009

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 145607, 145610, 145608.