A Pacific storm system brought high winds to 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.
A Pacific storm system brought high winds to 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 Apr 24, 1:50 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 250 PM MDT SAT APR 24 2010 .DISCUSSION... TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT REMAIN ON-TRACK TO MOVE THROUGH NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA OVERNIGHT. AHEAD OF THE FRONT WINDS HAVE ALREADY INCREASED TO OVER 40 MPH SUSTAINED AT CUT BANK SO HAVE ISSUED A HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND EASTERN GLACIER COUNTY THROUGH 9 PM. THIS EVENT SHOULD CONSIST PRIMARILY OF SUSTAINED WINDS IN THE 40 TO 45 MPH RANGE...WITH GUSTS POSSIBLY REACHING THE 55 TO 60 MPH RANGE IN A FEW LOCATIONS. AS NOTED ABOVE...THE STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH BY LATE EVENING WITH ISOLATED TO SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS MOVING THROUGH MY FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT. LATEST MODELS HAVE ALSO TRENDED TOWARD BRINGING A NORTHERLY PUSH OF COOLER AIR OUT OF CANADA AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS IMPACTING THE HI-LINE AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA. SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL LIKELY LINGER OVER NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FOR A PORTION OF THE DAY ON SUNDAY AS WELL. COOLER TEMPERATURES ARE ALSO EXPECTED ON SUNDAY WITH HIGHS EXPECTED TO BE ONLY IN THE 40S TO LOW 50S FOR MUCH OF MY CWA. THE ENTIRE SYSTEM MOVES EAST SUNDAY NIGHT WITH SHORTWAVE RIDGING REBUILDING OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL MONTANA ON MONDAY FOR DRYER CONDITIONS AND WARMER TEMPERATURES. MPJ MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL BEGIN TO SETUP OVER THE REGION AS A LONGWAVE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND RIDGING MOVES EAST. ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AND MOIST WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW ARE EXPECTED FOR TUESDAY WITH INCREASING INSTABILITY...HOWEVER DID HOLD OFF ON ADDING THUNDER TO THE FORECAST FOR NOW. STRONG UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH MOVES INTO THE INTERIOR WEST TUESDAY NIGHT WITH A SURFACE COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE STATE. THE TROUGH IS PROGGED TO DIG FAR SOUTH INTO THE GREAT BASIN WITH SEVERAL SHORTWAVES MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. TIMING OF THE COLD FRONT STILL UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME...HOWEVER MODELS SEEM TO BE CONSISTENT ON BRINGING THE FRONT THROUGH CENTRAL AND NORTH-CENTRAL MONTANA ON WEDNESDAY MORNING. MODELS SEEM TO INDICATE A FAIR AMOUNT OF PACIFIC MOISTURE WRAPPING INTO THIS SYSTEM SO HAVE RAISED POPS TO CHANCE CATEGORY IN THE VALLEYS AND LIKELY CATEGORY IN THE MOUNTAINS FOR WEDNESDAY. MUCH COOLER AIR BEHIND THE FRONT MAY ALLOW FOR A RAIN/SNOW MIX TO ALL SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH RAIN SHOWERS IN THE VALLEYS POSSIBLY MIXING WITH SNOW SHOWERS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. COOL AND UNSETTLED NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD SO HAVE KEPT SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS IN THE FORECAST WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES TEN DEGREES OR SO BELOW AVERAGE. WESTERLY WINDS WILL ALSO BECOME QUITE BREEZY AND GUSTY IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. MLS/COULSTON FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...MODELS ARE IN BASIC AGREEMENT DURING THIS PERIOD. AN UPPER LEVEL LONGWAVE TROUGH CONTINUES TO RESIDE OVER THE WESTERN U.S. DURING THIS PERIOD. A COUPLE OF CLOSED LOWS DRIFT ACROSS MONTANA. THIS WILL BE AN UNSETTLED PERIOD WITH THE POTENTIAL OF BEING A SNOW EVENT. MODELS DISPLAY A LITTLE UNCERTAINTY IN FEATURE PLACEMENT AND TIMING OF COLD AIR ARRIVAL...SO FOR NOW WE WILL KEEP AN EYE ON THIS SITUATION. THIS FORECAST CALLS FOR MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND MUCH OF THE SOUTHWEST...WITH SCATTERED TO ISOLATED SHOWERS ACROSS THE PLAINS AND CENTRAL VALLEYS...WHERE AT NIGHT MIXED RAIN AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL BELOW SEASONAL AVERAGES AT MOST LOCATIONS. EK && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1815Z. VFR CONDITIONS WILL GENERALLY PREVAIL ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL... CENTRAL...AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED BELOW. CLOUDS AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS AHEAD OF A WEAK DISTURBANCE APPROACHING THE AREA WILL CONTINUE TO OBSCURE THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA AT TIMES. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE INTO EARLY EVENING...BUT THEY WILL LIKELY NOT AFFECT ANY OF THE TERMINALS DIRECTLY. GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AS A WEAK COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. GUSTS WILL MAINLY BE IN THE 25 TO 35 KT RANGE...BUT GUSTS TO 50 KT ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SHOWERS OVER THE PLAINS WILL BE OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS (KGTF KLWT). WINDS AND SHOWERS WILL DECREASE IN THE EVENING AS THE DISTURBANCE BEGINS EXITING THE AREA. HOWEVER...MOISTURE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE DISTURBANCE MAY BRING A FEW SHOWERS THE THE AREA AGAIN AFTER 08Z. COULSTON && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 31 49 27 56 / 10 20 10 0 CTB 31 47 26 55 / 30 20 20 0 HLN 32 53 30 62 / 10 20 10 0 BZN 30 52 26 61 / 40 20 10 10 WEY 22 44 19 53 / 50 20 10 10 DLN 27 49 26 61 / 20 10 10 0 HVR 33 47 27 55 / 30 40 20 10 LWT 30 44 24 52 / 30 20 10 10 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING EASTERN GLACIER... NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. && WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 501 AM MDT SAT APR 24 2010 MTZ008>015-044>055-251115- BEAVERHEAD-NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-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- 501 AM MDT SAT APR 24 2010 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...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY COOL AND UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WITH PERIODS OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW EXPECTED THROUGH NEXT WEEK. A BROAD AND VERY MOIST PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE AREA DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK...WITH POSSIBLE ACCUMULATING SNOW IN THE VALLEYS AND PLAINS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. .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 68 mph was reported at Saint Mary 13W (Logan Pass in Glacier National Park - elevation 6775 feet).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, April 2010
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: 220118.