Periods of high winds affected much of the area as a strong westerly flow aloft remained over the area. Mid-level winds during this time was in the 70 to 90 knot range with surface gusts exceeding 80 mph along the Rocky Mountain Front and as far east as Cut Bank.
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.
Periods of high winds affected much of the area as a strong westerly flow aloft remained over the area. Mid-level winds during this time was in the 70 to 90 knot range with surface gusts exceeding 80 mph along the Rocky Mountain Front and as far east as Cut Bank. Across the rest of the area winds gusted as high as 70 mph as the front pushed across the region. Moisture also moved into the area bringing snow to some areas of 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 Jan 12, 10:45 PM MST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1045 PM MST Sun Jan 12 2014 .UPDATE... Updated current forecast for tonight to lower temperatures a few degrees. Then with a Canadian cold front moving southward through North Central MT on Monday afternoon...snow should develop over the eastern portions of our region. Thus a winter weather advisory has been issued for late Monday afternoon through Monday night...mainly east of a line from White Sulphur Springs...to Great Falls to Havre. About 1 to 3 inches is expected at lower elevations over the western portion of the advisory...including the Great Falls area...while 3 to 5 inches is expected at lower elevations over the eastern portions of the advisory area...including the Lewistown area. In the mountains...a generally 5 to 8 inch snowfall is expected. The strong winds look on track...with the potential for strong winds by early Monday morning across much of the region...and the strong winds continuing through Monday afternoon. Brusda && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0545Z. A cold front will spread south over the plains Monday afteroon with winds shifting from the southwest or west ahead of the front to the northwest behind the front. It is expected to reach KCTB/KHVR around 19z-20z and KGTF/KLWT around 22z-23z. Confidence in the type of precipitation is not high during the afternoon. If precipitation develops ahead of the cold front the precipitation will be rain while shortly behind the front it should turn cold enough for snow. Have moderate to high confidence that the plains will see wind gusts of 50 to 60 knots Monday afternoon with local gusts of 70 knots. However confidence is low as to whether the strong winds will be ahead of the cold front or associated with northwest winds behind the cold front. Although KCTB and KHVR should see a period of MVFR/IFR conditions in snow later in the afternoon. Widespread IFR/LIFR conditions in snow along with mountain obscurement should develop over central Montana including the KGTF/KLWT taf sites during the period 22z Monday -02z Tuesday and continue through the evening. Mountains of the Rocky Mountain Front will continue to be obscured in snow with areas of mountain obscurement over southwest Montana. Southwest valleys should remain VFR with the exception of brief MVFR/IFR conditions in isolated to scattered snow showers. Blank && .HYDROLOGY... A flood warning continues for portions of the Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway until further notice. Gallatin County Emergency Services continue to report that an ice jam is starting to break up...and that the water is starting to recede back into its channel. Left over debris from the receding water on Axtell- Gateway Road from Gateway-South road to Deer Spring Lane is keeping the road closed. If the water continues to recede back into its channel overnight...and conditions continue to improve...there is the potential that this flood warning will be cancelled on Monday. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 455 PM MST Sun Jan 12 2014/ Tonight through Tuesday...The area will remain under a moist and strong northwesterly flow aloft as an upper level ridge of high pressure builds into the Pacific Northwest. Another shortwave trof will push through the area tonight through Monday bringing strengthening mid level winds to the area. Winds...Another round of high winds are expected for much of the area. High winds will develop first along the Rocky Mountain Front tonight and spread into the rest of the area Monday afternoon. A stable layer above ridgetops will develop tonight helping to duct the strong winds down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain Front and into the nearby plains. Models are forecasting 70 to 80 knots winds a few thousand feet from the surface Monday afternoon, mixing in the low levels will continue to be deep for this time of year, helping to transfer stronger wind gusts to the surface over much of the plains and some of the valleys. Winds will begin to subside Monday night but remain gusty. Snow...Moisture will continue to stream into the region bringing snow into the higher elevations of southwest Montana and the Rocky Mountain Front. Have extended the Winter Weather Advisory for the Rocky Mountain Front through Monday afternoon, thereafter snow will decrease in intensity. An upper level jet and a frontal boundary will strengthen over the eastern zones late Monday afternoon into Monday night. This will bring snow to portions of the plains. Downslope winds should limit the chance for snow over the plains along and west of I-15. 1 to 2 inches of snow is expected over the eastern plains but some models have higher amounts. The situation will continue to be monitored. Langlieb Tuesday Night through Sunday...Forecast models appear to keep this time period fairly tranquil, though windy conditions will persist early. An upper level ridge of high pressure will remained parked along the Pacific Coast of North America through Friday, as a deep upper level trough of low pressure lingers over the eastern portion of the continent. A weak disturbance will move through the resulting strong northwesterly flow aloft over Montana Tuesday night into Wednesday. This will keep gusty westerly downslope winds over much of the forecast area, and bring a few showers to the mountains. Temperatures will remain about 15 to 20 degrees warmer than normal through Wednesday, but a shot of Canadian air will cool temperatures about 10 degrees for Thursday. In the wake of this disturbance, the flow aloft will decrease, causing winds to decrease through Friday night and allowing temperatures to remain about 10 to 15 degrees above normal. A weak disturbance will then break down the upper ridge somewhat and shift it into the western CONUS for the weekend. This will bring increasing cloudiness to the area and an increasing chance of mountain showers. Although increasing southwest downslope winds will keep the lower elevations generally dry, temperatures will not warm any further due to the increasing cloudiness, remaining near 10 degrees above seasonal averages. Coulston && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 30 51 31 50 / 10 20 80 10 CTB 29 50 31 49 / 10 30 30 10 HLN 33 53 33 48 / 20 30 50 10 BZN 31 47 28 41 / 30 20 40 10 WEY 19 32 18 31 / 90 70 50 20 DLN 28 44 28 41 / 20 20 20 10 HVR 21 44 21 40 / 10 80 80 10 LWT 22 44 24 42 / 20 80 90 10 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING until 11 PM MST Monday Blaine...Broadwater... Cascade...Central and Southern Lewis and Clark...Chouteau... Eastern Teton...Fergus...Hill...Jefferson...Judith Basin... Meagher. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 3 PM MST Monday FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET FOR Central and Southern Lewis and Clark... Northern Rocky Mountain Front...Southern Rocky Mountain Front. HIGH WIND WARNING until 11 PM MST Monday Eastern Glacier... Eastern Pondera...Liberty...Northern Rocky Mountain Front... Southern Rocky Mountain Front...Toole. HIGH WIND WARNING until 11 PM MST Monday Beaverhead...Gallatin... Madison. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 5 AM MST Monday FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 6500 FEET FOR Beaverhead...Gallatin...Madison. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY from 3 PM Monday to 5 AM MST Tuesday Cascade...Fergus...Judith Basin...Meagher. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY from 3 PM Monday to 5 AM MST Tuesday Blaine...Chouteau...Hill. FLOOD WARNING until further notice for a portion of the Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway. && weather.gov/greatfalls www.twitter.com/NWSGreatFalls www.facebook.com/US.NationalWeatherService.GreatFalls.gov
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 657 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014 MTZ009-014-048-140200- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK- SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 657 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST MONDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM MST MONDAY. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF HIGH WINDS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...WIND DAMAGE...AND/OR SNOWFALL. MTZ010-044>046-049-052-053-140200- EASTERN GLACIER-TOOLE-LIBERTY-EASTERN PONDERA-EASTERN TETON- JEFFERSON-BROADWATER- 657 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS OR WIND DAMAGE. MTZ055-140200- GALLATIN- 657 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS IN EFFECT FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 6500 FEET. A FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR A PORTION OF THE GALLATIN RIVER NEAR GALLATIN GATEWAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST MONDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...WIND DAMAGE...AND/OR SNOWFALL. MTZ008-015-140200- BEAVERHEAD-MADISON- 657 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS IN EFFECT FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 6500 FEET. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST MONDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...WIND DAMAGE...AND/OR SNOWFALL. MTZ011>013-047-050-051-054-140200- HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU-BLAINE-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS-MEAGHER- 657 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST MONDAY. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM MST MONDAY TO 5 AM MST TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS...WIND DAMAGE...AND/OR SNOWFALL.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
905 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0800 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 8 SE EAST GLACIER PARK 48.37N 113.10W
01/12/2014 M80 MPH GLACIER MT MESONET
80 MPH WIND GUST AT THE DEEP CREEK RAWS LOCATION. TIME
OF EVENT IS ESTIMATED.
&&
BRUSDAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1012 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0821 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 8 SE EAST GLACIER PARK 48.37N 113.10W
01/12/2014 M80 MPH GLACIER MT MESONET
&&
BLANKPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1017 PM MST SUN JAN 12 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0931 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 E EAST GLACIER PARK 48.45N 113.19W
01/12/2014 M73 MPH GLACIER MT DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
TWO MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SITE
&&
BLANK27 high wind, 3 heavy snow, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds measuring 52KT (60MPH) were reported 2 mi NW of Pendroy, MT at the Pendroy DOT sensor.
High winds measuring 55KT (63MPH) were reported 6 mi W of Brady, MT.
High winds measuring 103KT (119MPH) were reported 13 mi WSW of Saint Mary, MT at the Logan Pass Visitor's Center in Glacier National Park.
High winds measuring 50KT (58MPH) were reported 17 mi SW of Simms, MT.
High winds estimated at 50KT (58MPH) as a stock trailer was blown over along Highway 287 and tree limbs were down between Augusta and Choteau, MT.
High winds measuring 102KT (117MPH) were reported at the Augusta, MT Forest Service office.
High winds measuring 55KT (62MPH) were reported 5 mi WSW of Great Falls, MT at the Great Falls Airport ASOS.
High winds measuring 72KT (83MPH) were reported 6 mi NNE of Fairfield, MT.
High winds measuring 55KT (63MPH) were reported in Chester, MT.
High winds measuring 58KT (67MPH) were reported 3 mi SW of Cut Bank, MT at the Cut Bank Airport ASOS.
High winds measuring 56KT (65MPH) were reported 8 mi W of Townsend, MT.
High winds measuring 55KT (63MPH) were reported 14 mi WNW of Ringling, MT.
High winds measuring 56KT (65MPH) were reported 12 mi S of Rudyard, MT.
High winds measuring 57KT (66MPH) were reported 13 mi S of Fort Belknap, MT.
Heavy snow measuring 6.0 inches in 12 hours was reported in Lewistown, MT.
Heavy snow measuring 12.0 inches in 12 hours was reported 21 mi W of Neihart, MT.
Heavy snow measuring 7.0 inches in 3 hours was reported in Hobson, MT.
High winds measuring 60KT (70MPH) were reported 13 mi WSW of Saint Mary, MT at the Logan Pass Visitor's Center in Glacier National Park.
High winds measuring 54KT (62MPH) were reported 24 mi WSW of Choteau, MT.
High winds measuring 64KT (74MPH) were reported 8 mi SE of East Glacier Park, MT at the Deep Creek RAWS.
High winds measuring 59KT (68MPH) were reported 6 mi NE of Whitlash, MT.
High winds estimated at 39KT (45MPH) were reported 21 mi SE of Cascade, MT.
High winds measured at 59KT (68MPH) were reported 14 mi E of Fairfield, MT.
High winds measured at 80KT (92MPH) were reported 6 mi NE of Whitlash, MT.
High winds measured at 62KT (71MPH) were reported 2 mi SSE of Geyser, MT at the Geyser DOT sensor.
High winds measured at 58KT (67MPH) were reported 4 mi W of Lewistown, MT.
High winds measured at 55KT (63MPH) were reported in Cascade, MT.
High winds measured at 51KT (59MPH) were reported 8 mi WSW of Whitlash, MT.
High winds measured at 61KT (71MPH) were reported 3 mi WSW of Cut Bank, MT at the Cut Bank Airport ASOS.
An avalanche occurred on Henderson Mountain in Cooke City, MT. One snowmobile injury was reported.
High winds measured at 51KT (59MPH) were reported 1 mi E of East Glacier Park, MT at the Logan Pass Visitor's Center in Glacier National Park.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2014
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: 492354, 492355, 492353, 492358, 492361, 492365, 492367, 492368, 492369, 492370, 492371, 492372, 492373, 492374, 492376, 492377, 492375, 492387, 492388, 492389, 492390, 492394, 492422, 492425, 492426, 492430, 492436, 492423, 492424, 492380, 492445.