An accelerated upper-level jet stream and a favorable atmosphere for mixing allowed high winds to reach the surface during the mid day and afternoon hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
An accelerated upper-level jet stream and a favorable atmosphere for mixing allowed high winds to reach the surface during the mid day and afternoon hours.
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 25, 8:55 AM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 855 AM MST WED JAN 25 2012 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY... BUSY MORNING SO FAR. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY WAS CANCELLED EARLIER AS MAIN BAND OF PRECIP HAS MOVED INTO THE DAKOTAS. STILL SOME LINGERING VIRGA OVER THE NE ZONES BUT THIS SHOULDN/T LAST TOO MUCH LONGER. HIGH WINDS STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF REACHING THE SURFACE TODAY SO WILL KEEP THAT WARNING GOING. WINDS OF 70 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH A FEW THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE GROUND THIS AFTERNOON. ALREADY HAVE HAD GUSTS OVER 70 MPH ON US 191 SOUTH OF MALTA. JAMBA PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... A BAND OF FREEZING RAIN HAS DEVELOPED ALONG A WARM FRONT NEAR GLASGOW AT 10Z AND IS MOVING EAST. IT IS PRODUCING ENOUGH RAIN TO MAKE ROADS ICY. THIS FREEZING RAIN WILL MOVE TO THE EAST BY SUNRISE. WILL ISSUE A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY FOR THE NORTHEAST ZONES UNTIL 15Z. STRONG JET STREAM MOVING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS MORNING WILL MOVE ACROSS MONTANA TONIGHT AND INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS ON THURSDAY. LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN ALBERTA AT 10Z WILL TRACK ACROSS SASKATCHEWAN TODAY. THE WARM FRONT EARLY THIS MORNING WILL BE QUICKLY FOLLOWED A COLD FRONT IN THE LATE MORNING OR EARLY AFTERNOON. A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET WILL ACCOMPANY THE COLD FRONT PASSAGE AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH TODAY. 850MB WIND FORECAST VARY FROM 55 KTS ON THE ECMWF TO 70 KTS ON THE GFS. WITH COLD AIR ADVECTION AND DAYTIME HEATING...THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH MIXING TO PRODUCE ENOUGH WIND TO WARRANT A HIGH WIND WARNING. RIDGETOPS WILL SEE HIGHER WINDS AND HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF REACHING WARNING CRITERIA OF 40 MPH SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS TO 58 MPH. ALSO...AIRMASS WILL BE SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON SO THAT THERE MAY BE A FEW RAIN AND/OR SNOW SHOWERS. TROUGH MOVES OFF TO THE EAST TONIGHT WITH WINDS SLOWLY DIMINISHING. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SLIDE ALONG AT STATIONARY FRONT THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL MONTANA ON THURSDAY. THIS WILL BRING ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR A CHANCE OF SNOW POSSIBLY RAIN IN THE SOUTH IF TEMPERATURES ARE WARM ENOUGH. THE CHANCE OF SNOW CONTINUES THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT MOVES SOUTH AS A COLD FRONT. HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING DRY WEATHER ON FRIDAY. FORRESTER .LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... SYNOPTIC SET UP... A LONG WAVE TROUGH WILL STRETCH DOWN THE CENTER OF THE CONTINENT FROM THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES TO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. A MEDIUM RIDGE WILL RESIDE OFF THE BRITISH COLUMBIAN COAST AND DROP DOWN TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. A WEAK TROUGH IS BEING DEPICTED IN THE MODELS SOUTH OF THE GULF OF ALASKA AND BEARING STRAIGHT... BUT IS SLIGHTLY SUSPECT. COLDEST AIR OF THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SHOULD BE BOTTLED UP ON THE ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE INTO THE ARCTIC OCEAN. FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... NORTHWEST FLOW WITH SLIGHT COOLING ARE THE MAIN PLAYERS. WEAK SHORTWAVES MAY BE POSSIBLE IN THE FLOW PATTERN AND COULD SWOOP DOWN FROM CANADA AFFECTING OUR NORTH AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE CWA. CHANCES FOR ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION ARE LOW HOWEVER AND MINIMAL QPF IS ANTICIPATED WITH ANY PASSAGE DUE TO DRY LOW LEVELS. SATURDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY NIGHT... BRITISH COLUMBIAN RIDGE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION AND STALL FOR A BIT OVER THE CANADIAN PRAIRIE PROVINCES. CHANCES FOR RAIN ARE EXPECTED TO BE LOW OR MINIMAL. SUNDAY AND MONDAY ESPECIALLY HAVE A STRONG SIGNAL FOR DOWNSLOPE CHINOOK PROCESSES TO TAKE OVER AND MIX OUT/WARM UP THE ENVIRONMENT WITH MID TO LOW 40S POSSIBLE FOR HIGHS. LARGE FEATURES HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE BUT MESOSCALE FEATURES ARE VERY LOW CONFIDENCE IN THESE PERIODS. TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT... MODELS DO NOT HAVE TIMING DOWN YET... BUT THE TROUGH THAT WAS SOUTH OF THE BEARING SEA IS EXPECTED TO GAIN SOME STEAM AND MOVE ACROSS THE REGION. ANTICIPATE A COOLING PATTERN BUT... DEPENDING ON STRENGTH AND SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION BEFORE MAKING LANDFALL QPF MAY OR MAY NOT BE LIMITED. FOR NOW... THIS GROUP OF PERIODS IS HIGHLY VOLATILE IN THE MODELS AND COULD QUICKLY CHANGE IN FUTURE RUNS. CONFIDENCE HERE IS LOW. GAH && .AVIATION... VFR...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR LIGHT RAIN...SNOW SHOWERS OR A MIX OF BOTH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. STRONG WINDS OF 40-60 KTS ARE PRESENT THIS MORNING BETWEEN 2000-4000FT AND WILL BE EVEN STRONGER THIS AFTERNOON. CROSS WINDS WILL BE THE MAJOR FACTOR TODAY AS A TROUGH PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. WINDS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REACH NEARLY 35 KTS SUSTAINED WITH GUSTS UPWARDS OF 50 KTS DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS IN ISOLATED LOCATIONS. THE STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH MIDNIGHT AND SLOWLY DECREASE OVERNIGHT. AES && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY...DANIELS...SHERIDAN...WESTERN ROOSEVELT... GARFIELD...MCCONE...RICHLAND...DAWSON...PRAIRIE...WIBAUX... NORTHERN VALLEY...EASTERN ROOSEVELT. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS...PETROLEUM...NORTHERN PHILLIPS...SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS. && WEATHER.GOV/GLASGOW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 734 AM MST WED JAN 25 2012 MTZ016-021-059-060-261000- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-PETROLEUM-NORTHERN PHILLIPS- SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS- 734 AM MST WED JAN 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM THIS AFTERNOON FOR WEST WINDS 30 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 70 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ017>020-022>027-061-062-261000- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY-DANIELS-SHERIDAN-WESTERN ROOSEVELT- GARFIELD-MCCONE-RICHLAND-DAWSON-PRAIRIE-WIBAUX-NORTHERN VALLEY- EASTERN ROOSEVELT- 734 AM MST WED JAN 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING UNTIL 11 PM THIS EVENING FOR WEST WINDS 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
650 AM MST WED JAN 25 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0630 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 11 ENE ZORTMAN 47.96N 108.31W
01/25/2012 M66 MPH PHILLIPS MT MESONET
MALTA SOUTH DOT ON US 191
&&
JBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
919 AM MST WED JAN 25 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 11 ENE ZORTMAN 47.98N 108.31W
01/25/2012 M74 MPH PHILLIPS MT MESONET
MALTA SOUTH DOT SENSOR.
&&
TEDJThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common across the area. A peak wind gust of 74 mph was recorded at the Malta South US-191 DOT site.
Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common across the area. A peak wind gust of 61 mph was recorded at the Malta airport at 1:35 PM MST.
Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common across the area. A peak wind gust of 71 mph was recorded at the South Sawmill Creek RAWS site at 3:25 PM MST.
Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common across the area. A peak wind gust of 60 mph was recorded at Chain Buttes RAWS site at 4:22 PM MST.
Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common across the area. A peak wind gust of 62 mph was recorded at mesonet site east of the Fort Peck Dam at 3:50 PM MST.
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, January 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: 363089, 363077, 363079, 363081, 363080.