Surface low pressure moving across southern Canada contributed to high winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains. 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.
Surface low pressure moving across southern Canada contributed to high winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains. 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 Jun 3, 2:59 AM MST, 4 hours 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 359 AM MDT THU JUN 3 2010 .DISCUSSION... THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...A SHORTWAVE SYSTEM WITH ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING CAUSING WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT DROP IN TEMPERATURES FOR TODAY. SHOWERS SHOULD DISSIPATE QUICKLY BEHIND THE FRONT AS IT PASSES OVER THE REGION. WINDS WILL INCREASE BEHIND THE FRONT TODAY AND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. SOME LOCATIONS FAVORED FOR STRONG WINDS MAY HAVE OBSERVATIONS THAT NEAR HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA...HOWEVER SHOULD BE OUTLIERS AS THE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA REMAIN BELOW HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA. FRIDAY TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN A SLIGHTLY BELOW SEASONAL AVERAGES WITH WINDS AGAIN INCREASING DURING DAYTIME HEATING. WINDS WILL NOT BE NEARLY AS STRONG. HOWEVER WITH DECENT UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT FROM AN EXIT REGION OF A JET STREAK...ALONG WITH DIURNAL HEATING AND THE CONTINUATION OF THE MOIST FLOW...THERE WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE AREA. SATURDAY CONDITIONS WILL BE SLIGHTLY CALMER AS WINDS CONTINUE TO DIMINISH...HOWEVER AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN A POSSIBILITY DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING OF THE UNSTABLE MOIST FLOW. SUK SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...A STRONG WESTERLY JET WITH ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. MODELS SUGGEST THAT SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY NIGHT FOR GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS OVER THE PLAINS BUT A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH PUSHES INTO THE STATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER THE PLAINS SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. MEDIUM RANGE MODEL SOLUTIONS DIVERGE BY MID WEEK...BUT RECENT VERIFICATION STATS SUGGEST THAT THE GFS SOLUTION SHOULD BE SUPERIOR DURING THIS TIME FRAME SO HAVE TRENDED THE FORECAST IN THIS DIRECTION. GFS BEGINS TO BUCKLE THE FLOW ALOFT ON TUESDAY WITH A DECENT RIDGE AXIS FORMING OVER MONTANA BY THURSDAY. WITH THIS SOLUTION HAVE BUMPED UP TEMPERATURES AND LOWERED THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION BELOW CLIMATOLOGY. MPJ && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0445Z. AREAS OF SHOWERS AND MID-LEVEL VFR CEILINGS CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL MT THIS EVENING. BROAD AREA OF ADDITIONAL MOISTURE CURRENTLY WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE WILL PUSH EASTWARD OVERNIGHT...AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL TROF LOCATED IN NORTHERN IDAHO. CONDITIONS SHOULD GENERALLY REMAIN VFR OVERNIGHT WITH INTERMITTENT MVFR POSSIBLE FROM KHLN TO KLWT FROM 0900-1500Z. SURFACE COLD FRONT WITH THIS WEATHER SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO CROSS OVER THE MTNS EARLY THURS MORNING AND THEN TRACK ACROSS THE REGION FROM 10-16Z. CLOUDS AND PRECIP WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE AS THE FRONT GOES BY...BUT SURFACE WINDS WILL BECOME WESTERLY AND GUST TO 25 TO 40 KTS OVER THE PLAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON. WARANAUSKAS && .HYDROLOGY... ALTHOUGH NO LOCATIONS ARE REPORTING FLOOD CONDITIONS AT THIS TIME...MANY LOCAL CREEKS AND STREAMS REMAIN AT HIGH LEVELS AND COULD SEE ADDITIONAL RISES FROM ANY SHOWERS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THOSE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES OR TRAVELING NEAR SWOLLEN CREEKS AND STREAMS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ENCOUNTER POSSIBLE MINOR LOCALIZED FLOODING CONDITIONS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 67 44 67 44 / 20 10 50 40 CTB 63 40 63 42 / 30 10 50 30 HLN 68 46 67 45 / 30 30 60 50 BZN 72 49 70 46 / 70 20 60 60 WEY 59 41 58 38 / 80 60 80 80 DLN 65 46 64 41 / 60 30 70 50 HVR 70 42 70 47 / 50 10 30 40 LWT 65 41 65 42 / 40 10 40 60 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...SUK LONG TERM...MPJ AVIATION...MPJ WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 518 AM MDT THU JUN 3 2010 MTZ009-048-041130- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 518 AM MDT THU JUN 3 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT TODAY. WINDS GUSTS COULD REACH SPEEDS UP TO 50 MPH OVER FAVORED TERRAIN SUCH AS RIDGE TOPS AND UNPROTECTED MOUNTAIN SLOPES. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SLOWLY DECREASE AFTER 6 PM TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY 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. MTZ008-010>015-044>047-049>055-041130- BEAVERHEAD-EASTERN GLACIER-HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY- EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS- JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 518 AM MDT THU JUN 3 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...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY 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.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 66 mph was reported at Bynum 14W as well as sustained winds of 45 to 49 mph.
A wind gust to 58 mph was reported at Browning 6WNW (the Browning RAWS site - elevation 4656 feet). Also, a gust to 62 mph was reported at the Heart Butte RAWS site - elevation 4439 feet. A gust to 60 mph was reported at Babb 9N.
A wind gust to 58 mph was reported at Cut Bank 3SW (the Cut Bank ASOS site).
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, June 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: 229297, 229296, 229298.