High winds reached warning criteria over portions of North Central and Central Montana.
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.
High winds reached warning criteria over portions of North Central and Central Montana.
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 11, 4:50 AM MST, 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 450 AM MST Tue Dec 11 2012 UPDATED AVIATION SECTION .DISCUSSION... TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...An interesting pattern transition in store for the short term period. A high pressure ridge continues to move into the area with a tightening pressure gradient over the Rocky Mountain Front that has created a high wind warning in effect through 9 pm tonight. This ridge will yield the highest temperatures of the week and relatively dry conditions for Today. Conditions will remain relatively mild as the ridge quickly is replaced by a low pressure trough that is going to go through a split flow transition to a closed low. This transition is expected to occur over the great basin and will result in a relatively quiet weather situation for area with temperatures remaining slightly warmer than seasonal normals and chances of precipitation limited mainly to the higher elevation. Some energy will move over the area Wednesday Night and Thursday Morning and could bring a slight amount of snow over the plains and lower elevations along with the best chance of snow over the mountains. The one wild car in the forecast for the short term is the strength of a cold front associated with low pressure trough. With weak dynamic support aloft no significant weather is anticipated however temperatures could be lower than forecast for portions of North Central and Central Montana and some mesoscale upslope forcing could occur in the vicinity of the front. Suk THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY...Medium range models continue to show differences to start out the period. The pattern is one of a Great Basin Low and involves split flow with the northern branch affecting Montana and the stronger southern branch located over Southern California. A generally westerly flow aloft will limit precipitation to the western mountains and to the higher terrain and mountains of Southwest Montana through Saturday. By Sunday, a weak upper trof will move across the area but a lack of moisture and weak forcing will result in only isolated snow over the plains. An upper ridge will build over the Pacific Northwest Monday and the resulting northwest flow aloft will keep a slight threat for light snow over the western portions of the county warning area. Surface low pressure over eastern Montana will allow for a tightening gradient and breezy conditions Monday night. Tuesday will see the upper ridge break down as an upper trof approaches from the west and scattered light snow will spread east from the Rocky Mountains. Temperatures will remain near seasonal averages through the period. && .AVIATION... UPDATED 1150Z. Northwest flow aloft will continue. Snow showers are expected over the western and southwest mountains with dry conditions over the plains. A lee side surface trof will provide the gradient for gusty surface winds today with the strongest winds along the east slopes of the Rocky Mountain Front. VFR conditions prevail with MVFR conditions due to snow and blowing snow possible in the vicinity of snow showers. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 42 29 37 20 / 10 10 30 20 CTB 39 21 30 10 / 10 10 40 20 HLN 40 26 36 18 / 20 30 50 30 BZN 35 23 37 17 / 20 20 40 30 WEY 25 20 28 16 / 40 30 60 40 DLN 37 26 35 19 / 20 20 40 30 HVR 37 22 30 11 / 10 10 30 20 LWT 39 25 36 17 / 10 10 30 30 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING until 9 PM MST this evening Northern Rocky Mountain Front...Southern Rocky Mountain Front. && SHORT TERM...SUK LONG TERM...EMANUEL AVIATION...EMANUEL weather.gov/greatfalls
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 855 PM MST MON DEC 10 2012 MTZ009-048-120400- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 855 PM MST MON DEC 10 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MTZ008-010>015-044>047-049>055-120400- 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- 855 PM MST MON DEC 10 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High wind gust of 50KT (58MPH) was reported 13 miles W of Bynum, MT at Dellwo.
High wind gust of 50KT (58MPH) was reported 17 miles W of Pendroy, MT at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch.
High wind gust of 51KT (59MPH) was reported 24 miles WSW of Choteau, MT.
High wind gust of 76KT (88MPH) was reported 13 miles WSW of Saint Mary, MT.
High wind gust of 63KT (72MPH) was reported 8 miles SE of Glacier Park, MT at the Deep Creek RAWS.
High wind gust of 52KT (61MPH) was reported 2 miles SSE of Geyser, MT at the Geyser DOT sensor.
High sustained winds of 36KT (42MPH) was reported 2 miles SSE of Geyser, MT at the Geyser DOT sensor.
High wind gust of 51KT (60MPH) was reported 5 miles W of Stanford, MT.
High sustained winds of 39KT (45MPH) was reported 4 miles NNE of McAllister, MT at the Norris Hill DOT sensor.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 2012
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: 426381, 426382, 426383, 426384, 426385, 426386, 426387, 426388, 426389.