Very strong winds aloft produced high winds across all of North central Montana. 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.
Very strong winds aloft produced high winds across all of North central Montana. 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 Dec 27, 5:30 AM MST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 530 AM MST TUE DEC 27 2011 .DISCUSSION... HAVE UPDATED WIND GRIDS TO INCREASE WIND SPEEDS ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. REISSUED THE ZONES. EMANUEL && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1200Z. ANOTHER FAST MOVING PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING GUSTY WINDS TO MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL MT TODAY. STRONG WINDS WITH GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 KTS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE ROCKY MTN FRONT AND ADJACENT PLAINS INCLUDING KCTB WHERE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 12Z AND 16Z. WINDS WILL SUBSIDE SOMEWHAT THIS EVENING BEFORE RE-INTENSIFYING AS THE NEXT SYSTEM APPROACHES WEDNESDAY MORNING. SNOW SHOWERS WILL GENERALLY BE CONFINED TO THE MTNS WHERE TERRAIN OBSCURATIONS WILL BE MOST WIDESPREAD ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL AT ALL TAF SITES. HOENISCH && .PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED 348 AM MST TUE DEC 27 2011 TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...WIND WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER CONCERN FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS OR SO. SHORT WAVE ENERGY WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING...EMBEDDED WITHIN THE WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING SOME SNOW TO THE WESTERN AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS. THE PLAINS SHOULD REMAIN DRY AS DOWNSLOPE WINDS INCREASE IN STRENGTH THIS MORNING AS THE LEE SIDE TROF INTENSIFIES. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND OVER EASTERN GLACIER COUNTY. WINDS WILL DECREASE A BIT OVERNIGHT BUT INCREASE AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. FOR THIS REASON...HAVE UPGRADED THE HIGH WIND WATCH TO A WARNING AND RAN IT OUT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. DAY SHIFT WILL DETERMINE IF THE HIGHLIGHT AREA WILL NEED TO BE EXPANDED. TEMPERATURES SHOULD WARM INTO THE 50S SOME AREAS TODAY DUE TO THE STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS. WEDNESDAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO TODAY WITH STRONG WINDS AND SOME MOUNTAIN SNOW. SURFACE GRADIENTS RELAX A BIT ON THURSDAY AND ALLOW FOR LITTLE STRONGER SHORT WAVE ENERGY TO PASS ACROSS THE AREA. THE RESULT WILL BE MORE SNOW FOR THE MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS SOME RAIN AND/OR SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE PLAINS. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN WELL ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGES. EMANUEL THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...PERIOD BEGINS WITH THE AREA UNDER A PROGRESSIVE/FAST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WITH MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ADVERTISING A CHANGE TO A MORE AMPLIFIED POSITIVE PHASE PACIFIC NORTH AMERICAN (PNA) PATTERN SETTING UP FOR LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE INTERIOR WEST. SEVERAL DISTURBANCES WILL RIPPLE THROUGH THE FAST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...BRINGING CONTINUED WINDY AND UNSETTLED CONDITIONS TO THE AREA. BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL OVER THE WESTERN AND SW MTNS WITH BEST CHANCE FOR SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OCCURRING DURING THE FRI/FRI NT PERIOD AS A STRONGER PACIFIC SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE REGION. A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRI/FRI NT SYSTEM WILL BRING COOLER BUT STILL NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA SATURDAY. A WARMING AND DRYING TREND IS THEN EXPECTED TO DEVELOP FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL DAYS OF 2012 AS AB UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. HOENISCH && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 45 36 53 39 / 10 10 10 20 CTB 43 25 51 37 / 10 0 10 10 HLN 41 28 48 35 / 10 10 20 20 BZN 39 22 45 34 / 30 20 30 20 WEY 23 10 27 18 / 40 60 80 70 DLN 38 23 44 34 / 20 10 20 20 HVR 48 26 56 38 / 10 10 20 30 LWT 42 25 49 40 / 20 10 20 30 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST WEDNESDAY EASTERN GLACIER... ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. && SHORT TERM...EMANUEL LONG TERM...HOENISCH AVIATION...HOENISCH WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 508 AM MST TUE DEC 27 2011 MTZ009-010-048-281215- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-EASTERN GLACIER- SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 508 AM MST TUE DEC 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT. WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH ARE LIKELY AT LOWER ELEVATIONS AND IN EXCESS OF 75 MPH THROUGH CANYONS AND AT RIDGE TOPS. THERE WILL BE SHORT PERIODS OF LIGHTER WINDS OVERNIGHT BEFORE WIND SPEEDS INCREASE AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG WINDS...AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES AT TIMES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS OR WIND DAMAGE. MTZ008-011>015-044>047-049>055-281215- BEAVERHEAD-HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY- EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS- JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 508 AM MST TUE DEC 27 2011 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...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
18 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A wind gust to 65 mph was reported at East Glacier Park 1E (the Two Medicine Bridge DOT site).
A wind gust to 60 mph was reported at Valier.
A wind gust to 62 mph was reported at Pendroy 17W.
A wind gust to 61 mph was reported at Cascade 5S. Numerous trees and power poles were reported down across the county.
A wind gust to 59 mph was reported at Hilger 7SE (the Judith Peak RAWS site).
A wind gust to 60 mph was reported at Bozeman 8N.
Sustained winds of 43 mph were reported at Loma 1N (the Loma DOT site) for several hours.
Sustained winds of 47 mph were reported at Whitlash 8WNW.
Sustained winds of 47 mph were reported at Whitlash 8WNW.
A wind gust to 59 mph was reported at Chinook 11S.
A wind gust to 60 mph was reported at Dahlmon.
A wind gust to 62 mph was reported at Winston 6SE.
A wind gust to 74 mph was reported at Jackson 6SE (the Big Hole Pass DOT site).
A wind gust to 63 mph was reported at Geyser 7E.
A wind gust to 58 mph was reported at Jefferson City.
A wind gust to 60 mph was reported at Cut Bank 20NW.
A wind gust to 68 mph was reported at Inverness 2E (the Inverness DOT site).
A wind gust to 59 mph was reported at Helena. Numerous trees and power poles were reported down in the city. A metal building at the Helena Cycle Center was blown 100 feet across a parking lot, damaging several vehicles.
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: 354908, 354931, 354917, 354912, 354921, 354924, 354913, 354914, 354915, 354916, 354932, 354923, 354906, 354919, 354922, 354909, 354930, 354928.