A very strong cold front swept through northeast Montana, bringing strong and very gusty winds to some exposed and wind-prone locations.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A very strong cold front swept through northeast Montana, bringing strong and very gusty winds to some exposed and wind-prone locations.
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 Dec 27, 9:48 PM MST, 4 hours 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 948 PM MST FRI DEC 27 2013 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... SENT AN UPDATE TONIGHT TO MORE ACCURATELY REFLECT TEMPERATURES AND POPS. VERY CHALLENGING FORECAST GIVEN THE EXPECTED RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER OVER THE NEXT 18 TO 24 HOURS. DO NOT EXPECT A NORMAL DI-URNAL TEMPERATURE TREND TOMORROW. WITH THE COLD FRONT AND QUICK-MOVING STORM SYSTEM LATER IN THE MORNING...EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO STEADILY DROP THROUGHOUT THE DAY. ANY CHANCE FOR FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE GONE BY 12Z AND THE ENTIRE TEMPERATURE COLUMN DROP WELL BELOW FREEZING THERE AFTER. SOME BLOWING SNOW IS POSSIBLE...BUT THE CHANCES FOR SNOW LOOK TO BE PATCHY OR SCATTERED AND NOT VERY WIDESPREAD. THE CURRENT HEADLINE OUT EMPHASIZING WIND CHILL CONCERNS OVER ALL ELSE SEEMS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE. BMICKELSON PREVIOUS SHORT TERM DISCUSSION...WARM WEATHER OF TODAY WILL TURN SHARPLY COLDER SATURDAY MORNING AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA BETWEEN 2 AM (09Z) AND 8 AM MST (15Z) SATURDAY. AT 21Z (2 PM MST)... THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLD FRONT WAS NEAR CALGARY ALBERTA. THIS LOW WILL TRACK ACROSS NORTHEAST MONTANA LATE TONIGHT. IT WILL REMAIN MILD AND DRY AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM BUT THEN SOME LIGHT SNOW IS LIKELY BEHIND THE FRONT SATURDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES WILL STILL BE WARM ENOUGH ALOFT WHEN THE SYSTEM FIRST MOVES IN LATE TONIGHT THAT THERE COULD BE A MIX OF RAIN... FREEZING RAIN... SLEET AND/OR SNOW DEPENDING ON TEMPERATURES. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL RAPIDLY ON SATURDAY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. WITH NORTHERLY WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH... WIND CHILLS WILL MEET ADVISORY CRITERIA IN THE MORNING IN THE NORTH AND AFTERNOON IN THE SOUTH. THERE MAY BE ENOUGH NEW SNOW FOR SOME BLOWING SNOW BUT WITH MOST AREAS EXPECTING AN INCH OR LESS OF SNOW FROM THIS SYSTEM WIND CHILL WILL BE THE MORE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. WILL ISSUE A WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT FOR MOST AREAS. THE CHANCES FOR SNOW DIMINISH SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS THE FRONT MOVES TO THE EAST. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT DIMINISHING THE WINDS. BITTER COLD TEMPERATURES WILL ALLOW FOR WIND CHILLS AS LOW AS 35 BELOW SATURDAY NIGHT. FRONTAL BOUNDARY SETS UP OVER CENTRAL MONTANA WITH MOISTURE IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW SLIDING OVER THE EDGE OF THE COLD AIR. A WEAK SHORTWAVE DROPPING THROUGH THE FLOW COULD RESULT IN SOME LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS ON SUNDAY. FORRESTER .LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY... THE FORECAST FOR MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY IS DOMINATED BY THE PRESENCE OF A LARGE RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN CONUS...WHICH PUTS NORTHEAST MT IN AN AREA OF NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH PERIODIC DISTURBANCES...NONE OF WHICH LOOK VERY STRONG AT THIS TIME. REGION WILL ALSO BEEN NEAR A FRONTAL ZONE SEPARATING COLD AIR IN THE NORTHEAST FROM WARM AIR TO THE SOUTHWEST. THE FIRST WEAK AND POORLY DEFINED DISTURBANCE AFFECTS THE FORECAST EARLY MONDAY WITH SOME SCATTERED LIGHT SNOW POSSIBLE. A SECOND DISTURBANCE IS SOMEWHAT BETTER DEFINED AND COULD GIVE AN INCH OR SO OF SNOW ON TUESDAY. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY ARE RELATIVELY QUIET WITH THE NEXT DISTURBANCE POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY. TUESDAY IS THE MOST LIKELY PERIOD FOR SIGNIFICANT WEATHER AS BOTH THE GFS AND EC MODELS CLEARLY SHOW THE DISTURBANCE...WITH THE GFS SOMEWHAT FASTER THAN THE EC. SURFACE WINDS ALSO PICK-UP ON TUESDAY TO 15 TO 20 MPH WHICH COULD BRING WIND CHILLS BACK DOWN TO 20 TO 30 BELOW. FRONTAL ZONE LOOKS LIKE IT WILL RETREAT TO THE NORTHEAST LATE ON WEDNESDAY LEADING TO SOME WARMING LATE IN THE WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES RISING BACK INTO THE 20S ABOVE. MARTIN PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION... THE EXTENDED PERIOD STARTS OUT ON SUNDAY NIGHT WITH A WEAK UPPER LEVEL IMPULSE TRAVERSING ACROSS NORTHEAST MONTANA WITHIN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. LIMITED IN AVAILABLE MOISTURE...THE UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE MAY PROVIDE ENOUGH DYNAMIC SUPPORT TO SQUEEZE OUT A HALF INCH OF SNOW FOR SOME OF THE NORTHEASTERN ZONES. FOR THE REST OF THE CWA...ONLY EXPECTING SNOW SHOWERS AMOUNTING TO A HEALTHY COATING AT MOST. A MORE IMPORTANT UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE MAY AFFECT THE REGION ON MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. THIS COULD CREATE TRAVEL CONCERNS FOR THOSE WITH INTERESTS ON NEW YEAR/S EVE DAY. THE 27/00Z RUN OF THE MODELS IS IN MUCH BETTER AGREEMENT TONIGHT DEPICTING THIS EVENT AND SO INCREASED POPS TO THE MID CHANCE RANGE ACROSS A LARGE PORTION OF THE CWA FOR MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. EXCEPTION WILL BE THE FAR NORTHEASTERN ZONES. THE DRY ARCTIC AIR MASS IN PLACE ACROSS PLACES LIKE PLENTYWOOD AND MEDICINE LAKE MAY HELP KEEP MUCH OF THE STEADIER PRECIPITATION FURTHER TO THE SOUTH. THE STEADIEST SNOWFALL LOOKS TO OCCUR ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN ZONES. VERTICAL CROSS SECTIONS HERE SHOW DECENT OMEGA VALUES INDICATING ASCENT WITHIN A 500-700MB LAYER OF 2-3 G/KG OF MIXING RATIO AIR FOR THIS PERIOD. ADDITIONALLY...MODEL OUTPUT QPF IS ON THE ORDER OF 0.20 INCHES IN THESE LOCATIONS. PVA SHOULD PROVIDE UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND THE ECMWF IN PARTICULAR DEPICTS A 300MB JET STEAK ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA MONDAY NIGHT. THE JET STEAK IS SITUATED SUCH THAT THE CWA IS PLACED UNDERNEATH THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION WHICH MAY FURTHER ADD SUPPORT TO THIS EVENT. ANOTHER JET STREAK TO THE SOUTHWEST PLACES THE CWA IN THE LEFT EXIT REGION WHICH COULD KEEP SNOW GOING WELL INTO TUESDAY AFTERNOON IN SOME PLACES. UNCERTAINTY STILL DOES EXIST WITH THIS EVENT AND THERE ARE SEVERAL QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED. THE GFS SHOWS DRYING ACROSS PETROLEUM COUNTY BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHILE THE ECMWF KEEPS IT ACROSS THE AREA FOR MUCH OF THE DAY IN THOSE LOCATIONS. THE GFS KEEPS SNOW SHOWERS LINGERING ACROSS NORTHERN AREAS FURTHER INTO TUESDAY AND THE ECMWF DRIES IT OUT MORE PROGRESSIVELY. THUS...TIMING/LOCATION DETAILS NEED TO STILL BE WORKED OUT AND THIS WILL ASSIST IN FORECASTING MORE PRECISE AMOUNTS. IT IS CONCEIVABLE THAT THIS COULD TURN OUT TO BE AN ADVISORY LEVEL EVENT FOR SOME LOCATIONS. FUTURE SHIFTS WILL BE ABLE TO BETTER DETERMINE THE SPECIFICS. TUESDAY NIGHT AND BEYOND...MODELS SHOW WARMING 850MB TEMPERATURES AND BUILDING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE ACROSS THE WESTERN U.S. THUS...CONTINUED THE WARMING TREND THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. REMAINING PREDOMINANTLY IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL HINGE ON WEAK SHORTWAVES PUSHING THROUGH THE PROGRESSIVE PATTERN. GIVEN INCREASING ENSEMBLE SPREAD BEYOND DAY 5...WILL KEEP POPS NEAR CLIMO THROUGH THE REST OF THE PERIOD. EXCEPTION IS THURSDAY AFTERNOON WHERE POPS WERE LEFT OUT. THIS IS BECAUSE MODELS SHOW ENOUGH 500MB RIDING ACROSS THE AREA THAT THERE MAY BE LARGE SCALE SUBSIDENCE STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP IT DRY. MALIAWCO && .AVIATION... A FAST-MOVING CANADIAN COLD FRONT SWEEPS ACROSS NORTHEAST MONTANA EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 KTS FROM THE NORTHWEST TO NORTH BEHIND THE FRONT. CEILING HEIGHTS WILL DECREASE THROUGH THE DAY SATURDAY. THE FRONT WILL ALSO BRING SOME SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY...WITH BLOWING SNOW REDUCING VISIBILITY AND CEILINGS TO IFR LEVELS. SHOWERS WILL BE MORE LIKELY NEAR GDV AND SDY AERODROMES. BRITTON && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM 5 AM SATURDAY TO 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS...CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY... DANIELS...EASTERN ROOSEVELT...NORTHERN PHILLIPS...NORTHERN VALLEY...SHERIDAN...WESTERN ROOSEVELT. WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM 11 AM SATURDAY TO 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR DAWSON...GARFIELD...MCCONE...PRAIRIE...RICHLAND...WIBAUX. && WEATHER.GOV/GLASGOW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 314 PM MST FRI DEC 27 2013 MTZ022>027-281200- GARFIELD-MCCONE-RICHLAND-DAWSON-PRAIRIE-WIBAUX- 314 PM MST FRI DEC 27 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY MORNING. NORTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WILL PRODUCE WINDS CHILLS 20 BELOW TO 35 BELOW SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM SATURDAY UNTIL 5 AM SUNDAY. IN ADDITION...AN INCH OF SNOW IS LIKELY ON SATURDAY WITH AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW POSSIBLE. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO OF SNOW TO THE REGION FOR MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ016>020-059-061-062-281200- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY- DANIELS-SHERIDAN-WESTERN ROOSEVELT-NORTHERN PHILLIPS- NORTHERN VALLEY-EASTERN ROOSEVELT- 314 PM MST FRI DEC 27 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. NORTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WILL PRODUCE WINDS CHILLS 20 BELOW TO 35 BELOW DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM SATURDAY UNTIL 5 AM SUNDAY. IN ADDITION...AN INCH OF SNOW IS LIKELY ON SATURDAY WITH AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW POSSIBLE. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO OF SNOW TO THE REGION FOR MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ021-060-281200- PETROLEUM-SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS- 314 PM MST FRI DEC 27 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. NORTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WILL PRODUCE WINDS CHILLS 5 BELOW TO 15 BELOW DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. IN ADDITION...AN INCH OF SNOW IS LIKELY ON SATURDAY WITH AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW POSSIBLE. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR TWO OF SNOW TO THE REGION FOR MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Malta South US-191 DOT site recorded a peak wind gust of 70 mph at 5:30 AM. Sustained winds of 40 mph or greater were common during these 5 hours.
The King Coulee RAWS site recorded a peak wind gust of 66 mph sometime between 3:44 AM and 4:44 AM.
The Big Sheep Mountain RAWS site recorded a peak wind gust of 58 mph sometime between 8:08 AM and 9:08 AM. Sustained winds above 40 mph were likely from 7:45 AM to 9:45 AM.
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: 490018, 490015, 490017.