Montana, 2017Drought in Montana, December 1 to 31, 2017
December 1 to 31, 2017 · NWS GGW · 15 events in 15 counties and zones
This was an interesting month, with the western portions of northeast Montana receiving well above normal precipitation, and the eastern half receiving generally less than normal precipitation. In fact, Phillips, Valley, and Garfield counties received up to 200 to 400 percent of their normal precipitation.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 15
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.
This was an interesting month, with the western portions of northeast Montana receiving well above normal precipitation, and the eastern half receiving generally less than normal precipitation. In fact, Phillips, Valley, and Garfield counties received up to 200 to 400 percent of their normal precipitation. However, with already dry conditions in place and very cold temperatures moving into place during the month, there was very little change in drought conditions overall, although some snow did fall across northeast Montana during the month of December.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 6:11 PM MST, 5 hours 49 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 6:11 PM MST, 5 hours 49 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
611 PM MST Thu Nov 30 2017
.SHORT TERM...for northeast Montana...tonight through Fri...
600PM UPDATE:
Only minor changes were applied to hourly temperatures and
dewpoints through the next couple hours. GAH
PREVIOUS SHORT TERM DISCUSSION:
The upper flow remains zonal across Montana but a Pacific system
has brought an abundant amount of upper level moisture to the
area. This will continue into Friday with otherwise benign
conditions. It could clear out briefly Friday afternoon unless
another Chinook Arch, like today, develops over the area.
Temperatures will remain above average as arctic air will remain
locked up over northern Canada. Look for lows tonight mainly in
the 20s with highs Friday in the 40s. TFJ
.LONG TERM...Fri night through Thu...
AFTERNOON UPDATE:
The focus for the next chance of precipitation comes Saturday
Night or Sunday, but models are showing it to be rather light
with hit or miss snowshowers. It looks like the weak system that
affects the area moves northeast across the area but moisture
doesn't condense until it reaches Saskatchewan. Pops were lowered
slightly. Otherwise, the cold airmass that affects the eastern
half of the country brushes Northeast Montana. Weak/fast moving
disturbances in the N or NW flow may bring a stray snowshower or
flurries and nothing significant. Temperatures may begin to
rebound as the PacNW ridge drifts east. TFJ
PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION:
Current 00z model solutions have an upper trough digging into the
Pacific Northwest by Friday night and Saturday. This will push
southwest upper flow over northeast Montana out ahead of this
system.
The upper trough will translate east with the axis reaching the
CWA by about Sunday. As this system approaches with a surface cold
front, precipitation chances will increase. Will maintain a chance
for light snow Saturday night and Sunday as this unfolds, however,
temperatures in some places may be mild enough yet for a mix of
rain and snow.
Drier weather is expected as the system departs early next week,
along with colder temperature readings over the region. Highs in
many cases by Monday and Tuesday will be around, if not below the
freezing mark. As spread in ensembles increases beyond this point,
the forecast was trended toward latest consensus blends to finish
out the extended period. Maliawco
&&
.AVIATION...
FLIGHT CAT: VFR.
SYNOPSIS: Mid and high level clouds will continue to stream in
through Friday morning.
WIND: West to southwest and light through the morning... becoming
west and increasing to 10 to 15 kts Friday afternoon.
TFJ/GAH
&&
.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&
weather.gov/glasgow
Drought, Central and Se Phillips
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped a few inches of snow across the area the latter half of the month bringing precipitation amounts totaling more than 200 percent above normal, Extreme (D3) conditions prevailed throughout the month across central and southeast Phillips County.
Drought, Central and Southern Valley
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped a few inches of snow across the area the latter half of the month bringing precipitation amounts totaling more than 200 percent above normal, Extreme (D3) conditions prevailed throughout the month across central and southern Valley County.
Drought, Daniels
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Daniels forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped a few inches of snow across the area the latter half of the month, precipitation amounts were generally 25 to 75 percent below normal. Extreme (D3) conditions prevailed throughout the month across Daniels County.
Drought, Dawson
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Dawson forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped a few inches of snow across the area the latter half of the month, precipitation amounts were generally less than 50 percent of normal for the month across the northwestern half of the county, but around normal for the southeastern half. Severe (D2) drought conditions remained in place across northwestern Dawson County.
Drought, Eastern Roosevelt
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Because of a couple of winter storms that dropped a few inches of snow across the area the latter half of the month, precipitation amounts were around normal for the month across eastern Roosevelt County. Due to the already frozen ground and this being a climatologically dry time of year, Severe (D2) drought conditions remained in place across eastern Roosevelt County.
Drought, Garfield
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Garfield forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped enough snow to bring precipitation amounts ranging from 75 to 200 percent of normal, Garfield County remained in Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Little Rocky Mountains
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Little Rocky Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped enough snow to bring precipitation amounts to approximately 200 percent of normal, the Little Rockies remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, McCone
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- McCone forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that dropped enough snow to bring precipitation amounts to approximately 50 to nearly 200 percent of normal across portions of the county, McCone County remained in Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Northern Phillips
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Phillips forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The couple of winter storms that moved across the area were somewhat hit or miss across northern Phillips County, with precipitation amounts ranging from as low as 25 percent to as high as 200 percent of normal. Northern Phillips County remained in Extreme (D3) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Northern Valley
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that moved across the area which produced approximately 200 percent of average precipitation for the month, northern Valley County remained in Extreme (D3) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Petroleum
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Petroleum forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.118, -108.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that moved across the area which produced approximately 150 to 200 percent of normal precipitation for the month, Petroleum County remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Prairie
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Prairie forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 46.861, -105.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that moved across the area which produced approximately 150 to 200 percent of normal precipitation for the month, the western half of Prairie County remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Richland
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that moved across the area which produced approximately 150 to 200 percent of normal precipitation for the month, the northwestern half of Richland County remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Sheridan
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Sheridan forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that moved across the area which produced approximately 50 percent to near normal precipitation for the month, Sheridan County remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions throughout December.
Drought, Western Roosevelt
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
- Where
- Western Roosevelt forecast zone
- Reported by
- Drought Monitor
- Coordinates
- 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Despite a couple of winter storms that moved across the area, western Roosevelt County received only approximately 50 percent to near normal precipitation for the month, and remained in Severe (D2) drought conditions throughout December.
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 19, 2017$27,000 · 27 events
- Drought in Oklahoma, December 1 to 31, 201735 events
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 1 to 6, 2017$38,000 · 54 kt wind · 7 events
- Drought in Oklahoma, December 1 to 31, 201713 events
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 1 to 2, 201713 events
- Drought in Louisiana, December 1 to 31, 201710 events
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 27, 20179 events
- Drought in Arkansas, December 1 to 27, 20178 events
- Drought in Missouri, December 1 to 31, 20177 events
- Drought in Arkansas, December 1 to 31, 20176 events
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 20176 events
- Drought in Illinois, December 1 to 31, 20172 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: 727898, 727899, 727904, 727905, 727907, 727908, 727909, 727910, 727911, 727912, 727913, 727914, 727915, 727917, 727920.