Strong westerly winds aloft brought strong winds to the surface. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were eported.
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 brought strong winds to the surface. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were eported.
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 Dec 19, 10:45 PM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1045 PM MST MON DEC 19 2011 UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION .UPDATE... NO BIG CHANGES THIS EVENING. DID BRING UP THE POPS A BIT IN THE HOMESTAKE PASS/JEFFERSON COUNTY AREAS TOMORROW. WINDS STILL CONTINUE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND SHOULD BE ON THE INCREASE THIS MORNING. THERE HAVE BEEN GUSTS TO NEAR 60 MPH IN THE EAST GLACIER AREA...THESE CONDITIONS SHOULD CONTINUE ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. DB && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0600Z. INCREASING MID TO HIGH LEVEL CLOUD-COVER IS EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH TUES MORNING AS A WEAK UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS REPLACED BY A FAST NW FLOW ALOFT IN ADVANCE OF UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVING INTO WESTERN CANADA. KBZN AREA MAY SEE SOME LINGERING PATCHY FOG TONIGHT...HOWEVER CLOUD-COVER SHOULD HELP PREVENT FOG FROM BECOMING DENSE OR WIDESPREAD. SURFACE WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY OVER NORTH CENTRAL MT WITH GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50KTS POSSIBLE ALONG IMMEDIATE EAST SLOPES OF THE ROCKIES. EXPECT LOWERING CLOUD HEIGHTS AND MTN OBSCURATIONS TO DEVELOP TUES EVENING AS THE CANADIAN SYSTEM DROPS SE INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES WITH PRECIPITATION DEVELOPING ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BY 06Z WED. HOENISCH && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 415 PM MST MON DEC 19 2011/ TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE REGION AHEAD OF A PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY...WITH THE STRONGEST PERIOD OF WINDS EXPECTED DURING THE MORNING HOURS ON TUESDAY...GUSTS WILL APPROACH 65 MPH ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES. ACROSS THE PLAINS IT WILL BE BREEZY WITH GUSTS RANGING FROM 30 TO 40 MPH. A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPROACHING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING COOLER AIR INTO THE AREA TUESDAY EVENING AND AN INCREASING CHANCE FOR SNOW. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY. ACROSS THE PLAINS THERE IS STILL CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY. MOST MODELS ARE SHOWING LIGHT AMOUNTS OF AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOWFALL. THE GFS BRINGS ENERGY ASSOCIATED WITH A SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH ALBERTA SOUTH INTO THE PLAINS...GENERATING A BAND OF HEAVIER SNOW WITH AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 6 INCHES. CURRENT FORECAST TAKES THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR THE PLAINS...WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN THE PLAINS ADJACENT TO THE MOUNTAINS...AND AROUND AN INCH NEAR THE HI-LINE. AMOUNTS IN THE MOUNTAINS RANGE FROM ABOUT 6 TO 9 INCHES OVER A 24 HOUR PERIOD...THROUGH THE STRONGER GFS SOLUTION GENERATES AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 12 INCHES. WILL NOT ISSUE ANY HIGHLIGHTS YET...HOWEVER THE SYSTEM WILL BE CLOSELY MONITORED AS NEW DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE. LANGLIEB WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...THE WEATHER PATTERN LOOKS A BIT MORE ACTIVE OVER THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND TONIGHT THEN THE PREVIOUS FEW NIGHTS MODEL RUNS HAVE INDICATED. OVERALL...NO BIG STORMS ARE EXPECTED...BUT FAST MOVING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION THROUGH THE PERIOD...PRODUCING A FEW PERIODS OF LIGHT SNOW AND SOME WIND. FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT...THE MAIN STORM SYSTEM THAT MOVES THROUGH THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY WILL QUICKLY BE EXITING THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WITH PRECIPITATION ENDING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH OVER THE REGION BY THURSDAY MORNING. THINGS LOOK FAIRLY QUIET AND DRY FOR THURSDAY. HOWEVER BY THURSDAY NIGHT...STRONG WINDS DEVELOP OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND THESE STRONG WINDS WILL SPREAD OUT OVER THE PLAINS ON FRIDAY. WITH SOME FRESH SNOW EXPECTED OVER THE REGION AGAIN ON MID WEEK...BLOWING SNOW COULD BE A PROBLEM LATER IN THE WEEK. FOR SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY...THE GFS/EC HAVE WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD THROUGH THE REGION. BOTH MODELS HAVE THE DISTURBANCES...BUT BOTH MODELS HAVE DIFFERENT TIMINGS AND SLIGHT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ON THE AREAS OF THE PRECIPITATION. THUS LOW POPS HAVE BEEN PUT IN FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEKEND. AS OF NOW...NONE OF THESE SYSTEMS FOR NEXT WEEKEND LOOK VERY STRONG...RATHER THEY LOOK SIMILAR TO THE EVENT THAT OCCURRED ON SUNDAY EVENING...WITH MOST LOCATIONS RECEIVING LESS THAN AN INCH OF SNOW...WITH A FEW SMALL POCKETS OF HEAVIER SNOWFALL...WITH AROUND 2 OR SO INCHES. TEMPERATURES GENERALLY LOOK SEASONABLE...WITH A SLIGHT WARMING TREND FOR CHRISTMAS DAY AND INTO MONDAY. WITH SOME CLEARING OVERNIGHT IN-BETWEEN THE WEAK STORM SYSTEMS...AREAS WITH A SNOWPACK COULD SEE SOME RATHER CHILLY OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES...ESPECIALLY IN THE COLDER LOCATIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. BRUSDA && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 30 46 22 30 / 0 0 60 60 CTB 25 42 16 26 / 0 0 60 50 HLN 18 40 22 26 / 0 10 70 80 BZN 12 41 22 28 / 0 10 60 80 WEY -1 26 -1 18 / 0 10 50 70 DLN 13 39 19 26 / 0 0 50 50 HVR 26 43 19 31 / 0 0 40 30 LWT 22 44 19 25 / 0 10 50 70 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM MST TUESDAY NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. && SHORT TERM...DB LONG TERM...HOENISCH/LANGLIEB AVIATION...HOENISCH WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 302 PM MST MON DEC 19 2011 MTZ009-048-202215- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 302 PM MST MON DEC 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON WITH WESTERLY WINDS INCREASING TO 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON...THEREAFTER WINDS WILL DECREASE BELOW WARNING CRITERIA. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW WITH AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND RESTRICTED VISIBILITIES TO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. MTZ011-045-047-202215- HILL-LIBERTY-BLAINE- 302 PM MST MON DEC 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL BRING COOLER AIR INTO THE AREA LATE TUESDAY ALONG WITH AN INCREASED CHANCE FOR SNOWFALL. CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY EXISTS AT THIS TIME REGARDING SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. SNOW SHOULD TAPER OFF BY LATE WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MTZ008-010-012>015-044-046-049>055-202215- BEAVERHEAD-EASTERN GLACIER-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE- EASTERN PONDERA-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS-JEFFERSON- BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 302 PM MST MON DEC 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER TODAY IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL BRING COOLER AIR INTO THE AREA LATE TUESDAY ALONG WITH AN INCREASED CHANCE FOR SNOWFALL. CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY EXISTS AT THIS TIME REGARDING SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. SNOW SHOULD TAPER OFF BY LATE WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained winds of 50 mph were reported at East Glacier Park 1E (the Two Medicine DOT site) for over three hours.
A wind gust to 59 mph was reported at the Cut Bank ASOS site.
A wind gust to 58 mph was reported at Bynum.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 2011
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: 354846, 354847, 354848.