Strong winds developed as west to northwest flow aloft increases in response to the Pacific jet stream migrating east along the US/Canadian border. Wind speeds aloft, pressure gradient and temperature profiles all contributed to the development of strong winds over the region.
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.
Strong winds developed as west to northwest flow aloft increases in response to the Pacific jet stream migrating east along the US/Canadian border. Wind speeds aloft, pressure gradient and temperature profiles all contributed to the development of strong winds over the region.
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 13, 10:40 PM MST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1040 PM MST Fri Dec 13 2013 UPDATED AVIATION SECTION .DISCUSSION... Only minor updates to the forecast this evening. The surface frontal boundary draped northwest to southeast across Montana has sagged a bit to the southwest toward the front range of the Rockies. This has allowed winds to begin shifting more northerly along the Hi-Line, which should bring a minor surge of cooler air into the plains areas through 1 or 2 am MST tonight. However, it should shift back to the northeast somewhat after then, allowing breezy southwest downslope winds to develop along the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent plains and causing temperatures to start warming back up. The colder air will still linger across the northeast portion of the area, including the Havre area, where temperatures should fall to near or slightly below zero. The previous forecast had the temperatures handled well, so left them as is, but have made some adjustments to the winds to reflect the brief northerly shift. Have also decreased overnight sky cover across most of north central Montana to reflect current conditions. Remainder of forecast appears to be on track. Coulston && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0540z. Northwest flow aloft continues with mid and high clouds over the area. Isolated snow showers are possible over the mountains with dry conditions at lower elevations. Surface winds have decreased along the Rocky Mountain Front. Surface winds will strengthen and become strong after 18z. VFR conditions prevail with MVFR conditions possible in the vicinity of snow showers. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 445 PM MST Fri Dec 13 2013/ Tonight through Sunday...Cold air remains entrenched in my northeast zones this afternoon while downslope winds are keeping the western plains and southwest valleys relatively warm. The cold air even managed to penetrate up river along the Missouri as far south as Malmstrom AFB earlier this afternoon but has since receded. Models keep this cold air in place overnight as a surface low pressure trough axis and associated westerly winds will likely remain west of Havre until early Saturday afternoon. Main concern through this weekend will be the likelihood of very high winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and over the associated plains. Latest run of the NAM12 indicates a tight pressure gradient which would support strong winds along the east slopes of the Rockies as early as Saturday morning. Have upgraded the watch to a High Wind Warning for Montana Weather Zones 9/14/48 from early Saturday morning through Monday morning. Have kept the High Wind Watch in place for Eastern Glacier County and have expanded the watch to include Cascade and Judith Basin Counties as well. Other locations across the CWA will also see windy conditions and it is very possible that the High Wind Warning could be expanded to include other zones. Finally, high temperatures for Saturday and Sunday should be well above seasonal averages. mpj Sunday Night through Friday...Little significant weather expected from late Sunday through Wednesday morning, only to be followed by our second major cold blast of the month for the latter half of the week. Region will be under a northwest flow pattern aloft on Mon/Tues, with high temperatures in the mid-upper 40s, as broad high pressure ridge remains parked along the California coast. Except for some scattered snow showers along the Rocky Mtn Front on those days, forecast models show little if any moisture coming through central and southwest MT. By Wed morning, a strong upper-level trof makes a definitive southward push through British Columbia with the trof axis reaching the PacNW coast around midday Wed. Extensive Pacific moisture, in conjunction with a sharp surface cold front ahead of the trof axis, comes east of the Continental Divide Wed evening, bringing widespread snow that will work its way from north-to-south on Thurs. GFS and ECM models remain in decent agreement that an arctic airmass will settle into our region behind the cold front, ushering in a return to high temperatures only in the teens on Thurs and single digits above zero on Fri. Low temperatures both Thurs and Fri nights should be below zero. There is already some concern that temperatures could go considerably lower on Fri and possibly into next weekend as the current longwave (large scale flow) forecast depicts a pattern very similar to last week's bitterly cold conditions with strong northerly flow coming from northeast Siberia and far northern Alaska. This forecast is also supported fairly well, at this point, by the GFS and European model ensemble solutions, which trend toward a significantly colder pattern. Waranauskas && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 24 43 34 49 / 0 10 10 0 CTB 23 44 34 49 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 22 39 26 43 / 10 10 10 10 BZN 14 36 20 42 / 10 10 10 0 WEY 3 23 8 28 / 20 20 20 20 DLN 16 36 20 41 / 10 10 10 0 HVR -1 38 26 46 / 10 10 10 0 LWT 20 42 30 49 / 10 10 10 10 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING from 6 AM Saturday to 5 AM MST Monday Central and Southern Lewis and Clark...Northern Rocky Mountain Front... Southern Rocky Mountain Front. HIGH WIND WATCH from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon Cascade...Eastern Glacier...Judith Basin. && weather.gov/greatfalls www.twitter.com/NWSGreatFalls www.facebook.com/US.NationalWeatherService.GreatFalls.gov
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 821 PM MST FRI DEC 13 2013 MTZ009-014-048-141500- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK- SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 821 PM MST FRI DEC 13 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY IS LOW FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MST SATURDAY TO 5 AM MST MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ANY REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...WIND DAMAGE...AND SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. MTZ010-012-050-141500- EASTERN GLACIER-CASCADE-JUDITH BASIN- 821 PM MST FRI DEC 13 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY IS LOW FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ANY REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS AND WIND DAMAGE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. MTZ008-011-013-015-044>047-049-051>055-141500- BEAVERHEAD-HILL-CHOUTEAU-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY-EASTERN PONDERA- BLAINE-EASTERN TETON-FERGUS-JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 821 PM MST FRI DEC 13 2013 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds measuring 53KT (61MPH) were reported 6 mi WNW of Browning, MT at the Starr-Browning Airstrip.
High winds measuring 52KT (60MPH) were reported in Babb, MT.
High winds measuring 50KT (58MPH) were reported at the Heart Butte RAWS.
High winds measuring 76KT (88MPH) were reported 8 mi SE of East Glacier Park, MT at the Deep Creek RAWS.
High winds measuring 56KT (65MPH) were reported 24 mi WSW of Choteau, MT.
High winds measuring 51KT (59MPH) were reported 13 mi W of Bynum, MT at the Dellwo site.
High winds measuring 50KT (58MPH) were reported 21 mi SE of Cascade, MT at the Millegan site.
High winds measuring 72KT (83MPH) were reported 6 mi NE of Whitlash, MT.
High winds measuring 57KT (66MPH) were reported 12 mi WNW of Cut Bank, MT at the Blackfeet Agrimet.
High sustained winds measuring 35KT (40MPH) were reported 6 mi NNW of Sunburst, MT.
High winds measuring 56KT (64MPH) were reported 7 mi SSW of Conrad, MT.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 2013
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: 490417, 490397, 490415, 490475, 490409, 490413, 490416, 490419, 490420, 490449, 490468.