Montana, 2013Strong Wind in Montana, April 27, 2013
April 27, 2013 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone
A very strong westerly jet developed mountain waves across western Montana. Damaging winds over 50 mph were felt in Libby in the mid-afternoon.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $4,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
A very strong westerly jet developed mountain waves across western Montana. Damaging winds over 50 mph were felt in Libby in the mid-afternoon.
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 27, 2:52 PM MST, 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 27, 2:52 PM MST, 14 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
352 PM MDT Sat Apr 27 2013
.UPDATE...Added wind advisory for the Kootenai/Cabinet region
including Libby and Eureka.
&&
.DISCUSSION...Lincoln county emergency manager called to report
multiple roofs blown off, trees and power lines down in Libby from
a strong wind gust just before 3:30 PM MDT. Gusty winds are being
reported across the area, but are mainly between 30 and 40 mph.
Places like Avon, Deer Lodge, Hamilton and Sheepherder Hill
between Kila and Kalispell have been reporting gusts near 40 mph.
Winds are expected to be at their peak now through 6 pm MDT and
begin to diminish after that time.
&&
.AVIATION...Strong and gusty winds will be present at all Northern
Rockies terminals through 28/0300Z. 30 knots will be fairly
typical, however gusts may exceed 40 knots across western Montana.
Ceilings will lower after 28/0300Z, with rain developing. Terrain
obscurations will be commonplace through tomorrow. Gusty winds,
likely to around 25 knots, will redevelop after 28/1800Z for all
area terminals once more.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 241 PM MDT Sat Apr 27 2013/
..COLD FRONT TO CAUSE STRONG WINDS MONDAY...
..WEDNESDAY MORNING COLD TEMPERATURES MAY DAMAGE SENSITIVE
PLANTS...
DISCUSSION...
Strong and gusty winds will continue to be present across the
Northern Rockies through this evening. High profile vehicles
traveling on rural highways will experience hazardous crosswinds.
Boaters on Flathead Lake will experience waves up to 3 feet high
and excessive chop. Wind highlights remain in effect through this
evening to address these impacts.
Monday still looks like a very windy day with a strong cold front
set to move through the Northern Rockies. Current timing has the
front in Northwest Montana Monday morning, moving through Missoula
around noon, and through Butte and central Idaho in the afternoon.
Wind gusts in excess of 35 mph are very likely with gusts around
50 mph possible in central western Montana and southwest Montana
with frontal passage.
The coldest air behind the front will arrive Tuesday and cause low
temperatures Wednesday morning in the low to mid 20s, potentially
damaging sensitive plants and blooming fruit trees.
Wednesday a ridge starts to build in and causes a warming and
drying through the rest of the week.
AVIATION...Strong and gusty winds will be present at all Northern
Rockies terminals through 28/0300Z. 30 knots will be fairly
typical, however gusts may exceed 40 knots near KBTM. Ceilings
will lower after 28/0300Z, with rain developing. Terrain
obscurations will be commonplace through tomorrow. Gusty winds,
likely to around 25 knots, will redevelop after 28/1800Z for all
area terminals once more.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WIND ADVISORY until 9 PM MDT this evening Butte/Blackfoot Region.
WIND ADVISORY until 9 PM MDT this evening Bitterroot/Sapphire
Mountains.
LAKE WIND ADVISORY until 9 PM MDT this evening Flathead/Mission
Valleys.
WIND ADVISORY until 9 PM MDT this evening Kootenai/Cabinet
Region.
ID...None.
&&
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Local storm report, Apr 27, 2:32 PM MST, 34 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
332 PM MDT SAT APR 27 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0327 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG LIBBY 48.39N 115.56W
04/27/2013 LINCOLN MT EMERGENCY MNGR
LINCOLN COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTED MULTIPLE ROOFS
BLOWN OFF, TREES DOWN AND POWER LINES DOWN.
&&
NOBLEStrong Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region
- When
- April 27, 3:06 PM MST
- Where
- Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
- Measured
- 46 kt (53 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $4,000
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The Lincoln county emergency manager reported that multiple roofs had been damaged, and trees and power lines were down due to a strong wind gust. Power was out for several hours from Libby (elevation 2600 ft.) to Happy's Inn on Highway 2. The nearest observation that reported strong wind gusts was the Zonolite RAWS station at 4200 feet. It reported a gust to 53 mph at 15:06 PM MDT.
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Flooding in North Dakota, April 27 to 30, 20132 deaths · $65,000 · 9 events
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Tennessee, April 27 to 28, 20132 injured · $15 million · 1 in hail · 27 events
- Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, April 27, 2013$131,000 · EF2 · 7 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 27, 2013$4.0 million · 1.75 in hail · 11 events
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, April 27, 20131 injured · $100,000 · EF1 · 6 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 27, 2013$80,000 · 1 in hail · 10 events
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Kentucky, April 27, 2013$40,000 · 4 events
- Tornado and Hail in Louisiana, April 27, 2013EF1 · 2 events
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, April 27, 2013$1,000 · 1.75 in hail · 13 events
- High Wind in Montana, April 27, 201373 kt wind · 7 events
- Flooding in Kentucky, April 27 to 30, 20135 events
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Texas, April 27 to 28, 2013$10,000 · 50 kt wind · 5 events
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: 439313.