An upper level low pressure trough moved across the Rocky Mountains and brought strong winds to the Northern Rocky Mountain Front. Sustained wind speeds over 40 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.
An upper level low pressure trough moved across the Rocky Mountains and brought strong winds to the Northern Rocky Mountain Front. Sustained wind speeds over 40 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 Nov 2, 4:30 AM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 530 AM MDT WED NOV 2 2011 .DISCUSSION... TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BE BUILDING OVER THE ZONES TODAY AND WILL KEEP THE AIRMASS DRY. A WEAK SURFACE PRESSURE TROF SITS ALONG THE LEE OF THE ROCKIES AND IS KEEPING STEADY SOUTHWEST WINDS ACROSS THE PLAINS. A DISTURBANCE RIDING OVER THE TOP OF THE RIDGE INTO ALBERTA WILL TIGHTEN THE PRESSURE GRADIENT FURTHER FOR BRISK WINDS TODAY ACROSS THE ROCKIES AND PLAINS. THE FORECAST MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE TROF OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC HAS SLOWED. THE STRONG WINDS AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM WILL SPREAD OVER THE ROCKIES LATER TONIGHT AND THURSDAY BUT ARE NOT EXPECTED TO APPROACH WARNING CRITERIA. THE TIMING OF THE COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROF CONTINUES TO BE OF CONCERN. MAX TEMPS WILL DEPEND ON TIME OF PASSAGE...AND WITH A SLOWER MOVEMENT FORECAST...MAX TEMPS ON THURSDAY WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO CLIMB HIGHER. THE TROF WILL BE APPROACHING WESTERN MONTANA THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. SNOW WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THIS TROF AND SPREAD EAST OF THE ROCKIES LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. THE STRONGEST DYNAMICS WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE WELL SOUTH OF THE ZONES. STRONGEST LIFT OVER THE FORECAST AREA SHOULD DEVELOP FRIDAY MORNING AS THE MID LEVEL LOW PRESSURE CENTER CROSSES THE ROCKIES AND MOVES INTO THE PLAINS...MOVING INTO THE NORTHEASTERN ZONES FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE AIRMASS WILL BE SLOW TO SATURATE HOWEVER AND MOST PRECIP AMOUNTS THROUGH FRIDAY WILL REMAIN OVER THE ROCKIES. ZELZER FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...TRANSIENT SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BREAK DOWN EARLY FRIDAY. EXPECT MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS TO START THE DAY WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. A STRONG UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN U.S. WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT MONTANA FRIDAY WITH EFFECTS POTENTIALLY LINGERING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THIS TROUGH LOOKS TO BRING WITH IT SHARPLY COLDER TEMPERATURES AND A WIDESPREAD CHANCE OF SEEING SNOW SHOWERS. INCONSISTENCIES REMAIN WITH MODEL PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES AND EVEN MORE SO WITH THE EXACT TIMING. MODELS HAVE BEEN SLOWING THE SYSTEM DOWN A BIT OVER THE PAST TWO RUNS WHILE ALSO SLOWING THE SPREADING OF SNOW ACROSS THE AREA. SKIES LOOK TO IMPROVE INTO SUNDAY BEFORE ANOTHER TROUGH APPROACHES THE PACIFIC NW MONDAY. SKIES LOOK TO CLEAR OUT SOME TUESDAY WITH ANOTHER SYSTEM APPROACHING THE PACIFIC COAST MID NEXT WEEK. AS A RESULT...A CHANCE OF SHOWERS WILL REMAIN IN THE FORECAST THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD...MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. WINDS WILL VARY FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHWEST THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH PERIODS OF BREEZY TO GUSTY CONDITIONS. && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1130Z. NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL OVER THE AREA WILL KEEP DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS TODAY. SURFACE WINDS WILL INCREASE AFTER 15Z AND BECOME GUSTY DURING THE AFTERNOON BEFORE CALMING THIS EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE ALONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 51 33 52 26 / 0 0 0 10 CTB 50 28 49 18 / 0 0 10 20 HLN 45 25 49 25 / 0 0 0 10 BZN 44 19 51 21 / 0 0 0 0 WEY 35 15 39 15 / 0 0 0 0 DLN 43 22 47 23 / 0 0 0 0 HVR 51 25 55 22 / 0 0 0 10 LWT 48 27 54 24 / 0 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 521 AM MDT WED NOV 2 2011 MTZ008-010>015-044>047-049>055-031130- 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- 521 AM MDT WED NOV 2 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...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS A WINTER- LIKE WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. HIGH TEMPERATURES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ARE EXPECTED TO TOP OUT IN THE 20S OR LOWER 30S WHILE LOWS WILL LIKELY BOTTOM OUT IN THE TEENS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE AT LOWER ELEVATIONS...4 TO 8 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MTZ009-048-031130- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 521 AM MDT WED NOV 2 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. LOCALLY HIGHER GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH FAVORED CANYONS AND MOUNTAIN PASSES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS A WINTER- LIKE WEATHER SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. HIGH TEMPERATURES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ARE EXPECTED TO TOP OUT IN THE 20S OR LOWER 30S WHILE LOWS WILL LIKELY BOTTOM OUT IN THE TEENS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE AT LOWER ELEVATIONS...4 TO 8 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained wind speeds of 46 mph were reported for over an hour.
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, November 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: 352147.