Name: Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Montana, April 26, 2012
Start: 2012-04-26T13:00
End: 2012-04-26T15:15
Location: Montana

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $18,000
Crop damage: $2,000
Events: 3

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.

A strong cold front moved across western Montana. This caused the atmosphere to become very unstable and produced some severe thunderstorms.

What forecasters said that day

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 26, 9:13 AM MST, 3 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 26, 9:13 AM MST, 3 hours 47 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1013 AM MDT THU APR 26 2012

.UPDATE...ISSUED A SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE WEST GLACIER REGION FOR FRIDAY
MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING.

.DISCUSSION...SNOW LEVELS WILL QUICKLY DROP OVERNIGHT TONIGHT AND
SLUSHY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED ON HIGHWAY 2 THROUGH
FRIDAY.

&&

.AVIATION...SHOWERS WITH FREQUENT REDUCTIONS IN VISIBILITY AND
PERSISTENTLY LOWERED CLOUDS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS
AS A LARGE WEATHER SYSTEM AFFECTS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. A STRONG
FROPA IS ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON WHICH WILL BRING A BURST OF
HEAVY PRECIPITATION ALONG WITH A FEW HOURS OF VERY GUSTY WINDS.
FROPA WILL BE LEAST FELT AT KGPI BETWEEN 22Z AND 23Z BUT MORE
SIGNIFICANTLY EXPERIENCED AT KMSO NEAR 23Z...KBTM BETWEEN 01Z AND
02Z AND KSMN 03Z.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 825 AM MDT THU APR 26 2012/

UPDATE...ISSUED WIND ADVISORIES FOR THE
FLATHEAD/MISSION...MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS AND THE I-90
CORRIDOR FROM GARRISON JUNCTION TO BUTTE.

DISCUSSION...MODELS ARE INDICATING STRONG PRESSURE RISES BEHIND
THE COLD FRONT LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND HAVE BEEN
TRENDING UPWARD. A BRIEF PERIOD OF STRONG WINDS GUSTING OVER 40
MPH IS LIKELY WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE...HOWEVER WINDS CONTINUING AT
ADVISORY LEVEL THROUGH THE NIGHT IS BORDERLINE CONSIDERING THAT
THE PRECIPITATION USUALLY REDUCES THE EXPECTED WINDS.

AVIATION...SHOWERS WITH FREQUENT REDUCTIONS IN VISIBILITY AND
PERSISTENTLY LOWERED CLOUDS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS
AS A LARGE WEATHER SYSTEM AFFECTS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. A STRONG
FROPA IS ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON WHICH WILL BRING A BURST OF
HEAVY PRECIPITATION ALONG WITH A FEW HOURS OF VERY GUSTY WINDS.
FROPA WILL BE LEAST FELT AT KGPI BETWEEN 22Z AND 23Z BUT MORE
SIGNIFICANTLY EXPERIENCED AT KMSO NEAR 23Z...KBTM BETWEEN 01Z AND
02Z AND KSMN 03Z.

&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WIND ADVISORY FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM MDT FRIDAY
     BUTTE/BLACKFOOT REGION.

     WIND ADVISORY FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM MDT FRIDAY
     MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS.

     WIND ADVISORY FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM MDT FRIDAY
     FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 6 AM MDT SATURDAY
     WEST GLACIER REGION.

ID...NONE.
&&

SHORT TERM...KITSMILLER/LEACH
AVIATION...KITSMILLER

The radar

The Missoula radar (KMSX), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Deer Lodge

When: April 26, 1:00 PM MST to 2:02 PM MST
Where: Deer Lodge County, Anaconda
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.130, -112.950

A spotter measured 0.46 inches of rain in Anaconda.

Thunderstorm Wind, Missoula

When: April 26, 2:15 PM MST to 2:16 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, 4.07 mi NNE of Missoula
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.931, -113.956

Trained spotter reported a large spruce tree blown over 4 miles n of East Missoula.

Thunderstorm Wind, Missoula

When: April 26, 3:05 PM MST to 3:15 PM MST
Where: Missoula County, 0.84 mi SE of Missoula
Measured: 80 kt (92 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $18,000
Crop damage: $2,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.870, -113.990

The broadcast media reported a tree limb fell and crushed an outbuilding in the Orchard homes development at 315pm.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, April 2012

Sources

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: 375894, 377814, 376100.