The center of a strong arctic high pressure moved through the Canadian prairies generating extreme cold conditions across northeast Montana with the combination of winds and frigid temperatures.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 GGW wrote it up.
The center of a strong arctic high pressure moved through the Canadian prairies generating extreme cold conditions across northeast Montana with the combination of winds and frigid temperatures.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 3:11 PM MST, 8 hours 49 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. At 0500 MST, 10 miles south of Opheim an estimated wind chill of -59F was recorded.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. Estimated wind chills from observations at Coronach, Saskatchewan.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. At 0645 MST, Plentywood handar had windchills below -40F.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. At 0300 MST, Cooperative weather observer reported in Malta reported wind chill of -42F.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. At 0400 February 1st, wind chill readings at the Glasgow Airport reached -58F. At 0500 MST, a -62F wind chill was reported in Nashua.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. At 0600 MST Wolf Point ASOS reported a wind chill of -56F.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. The Polar RAWS and the Stateline had wind chill readings of -40F or more.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. At midnight MST at the Jordan ASOS, several hours of -40F or colder wind chills have occurred. At 0300 MST at the Jordan ASOS, the wind chill was -52F. At 0300 MST at the Hillside DOT sensor, the wind chill reached -40F.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. The Fort Peck handar and the Cow Creek DOT sensors continued to report wind chills of -40F or colder.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. The observation sites at Fallon and at the Big Sheep RAWS recorded wind chills of -40F or colder.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. The Sidney ASOS reported wind chills of -40F or colder with the lowest reading at -48F at 0500 MST.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. The Glendive AWOS and Lindsay Divide reported wind chills of -40F or colder. The Glendive AWOS reported the coldest wind chill of -47F at 0400 MST.
Dangerous wind chills continued into the morning of Feb 1st. The Beaver Hill DOT sensor reported wind chills of -40F or colder.
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, February 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 274244, 274245, 274247, 274248, 274251, 274253, 274259, 274267, 274282, 274284, 274285, 274286, 274287, 274289.