A very strong upper-level jet streak over the area combined with an approaching cold front to allow gusty high winds to mix down to the surface for a few locations across northeast Montana.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 upper-level jet streak over the area combined with an approaching cold front to allow gusty high winds to mix down to the surface for a few locations across northeast 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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 2:41 PM MST, 5 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service GLASGOW MT 241 PM MST Sun Jan 29 2017 .SHORT TERM...for northeast Montana...tonight through Tue... Main forecast challenge today is in anticipating the strong hazardous winds expected on Monday. In its wake, also expecting accumulating snow to approach and clip our SW CWA border through at least mid week. Recent and current model data indicate the presence of a very strong jet streak moving over NE Montana, from upper levels all the way down to lower levels of the atmosphere. The pressure gradient is also expected to increase and compact ahead of the approaching cold front from the north and northwest. This combination of factors is expected to easily allow some strong and hazardous winds to mix down to the surface. Model data consensus continues to show a sudden increase in low level lapse rates Monday morning through Monday evening which correlates nicely with the strongest expected winds. Given the model confidence and lessening time frame, felt it was best to push forward and upgrade the High Wind Watch to a High Wind Warning for those eastern zones of our CWA. Would advise the next shift to carefully re- evaluate the situation and consider any possible expansions or extensions to catch rouge wind gusts which may briefly reach down to the surface elsewhere. Beginning late Monday night after the cold front, and continuing through most of the week, recent and current model consensus continues to support accumulating snowfall reaching up and crossing over in our CWA SW corner. Current thinking is that amounts will be light enough and over an long enough period of time as to not warrant any winter weather headlines at this time. BMickelson .LONG TERM...Tue night through Sun... AFTERNOON UPDATE: Main point of focus for this afternoon was on low confidence sneaking in Thursday night onward. From this point onward models agree in a synoptic battle of airmasses, But disagree on where the boundary will be within this clash. Northeast Montana has the distinguished privilege on being right next to this boundary that will be the focus for extra precipitation and cloud cover as well as increased temperatures... or the boundary will be farther west most of the time in which case we will be cold and dry. The reality is probably some combination in between at different periods of time. This discrepancy is forcing a lot of washed out detail along a gradient from northeast to southwest, hence low confidence. GAH PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION: Latest 00z model guidance presents an upper level ridge over the southwestern U.S. and a trough over the Great Lakes. Northwest upper flow will reside in between extending ahead of a shortwave entering the Pacific Northwest through Montana and into the central U.S. A surface boundary will separate colder air to the east and warmer temperatures westward toward the ridge. In between expect overrunning precipitation over the Northern Rockies and southern Montana. As the ridge axis slides east Wednesday into Thursday, the band of precipitation will also advance toward the forecast area providing increasing chances for some light snow toward the midweek. A little enhancement in precipitation may occur from additional forcing for ascent via PVA as the upper shortwave slides along the Canadian border adjacent with the CWA. Associated height falls will also mean continued cold temperatures with lows in the single digits and low teens and highs in the upper teens and low 20s through the middle part of the week. Ensemble spread in the 500mb heights begins to increase toward the weekend, lending toward decreasing confidence in the details. For now trended the forecast toward the latest consensus model blends to finish out the long range. Maliawco && .AVIATION... FLIGHT CAT: VFR. SYNOPSIS: A stable ridge with its inversions will move through this afternoon and exit this evening... a cold front will fill in behind it Monday morning. Winds will then increase behind the front eroding the inversion. LLWS: The new inversion sets up tonight after 01Z through roughly 12-15Z. This will lead to strong winds aloft and LLWS. Take off/landing will need to adjust for speed increase/decrease. Inversion and LLWS will disappear entirely by 18Z when strong winds reach the surface. Confidence is high. WIND: Mainly west at 10 to 20 kts through midnight... slowly increasing to 15 to 25 kts sustained and gusting to 30 to 40 kts by Monday Afternoon. GAH && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 6 AM to 8 PM MST Monday for Daniels... Dawson...Eastern Roosevelt...Richland...Sheridan...Western Roosevelt...Wibaux. && weather.gov/glasgow
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 257 PM MST SUN JAN 29 2017 MTZ018>020-024-025-027-062-301100- DANIELS-SHERIDAN-WESTERN ROOSEVELT-RICHLAND-DAWSON-WIBAUX- EASTERN ROOSEVELT- 257 PM MST SUN JAN 29 2017 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A VERY STRONG JET STREAK AND AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL ALLOW STRONG AND HAZARDOUS WINDS TO REACH THE GROUND THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY ON MONDAY. LOOSE AND UNSECURED ITEMS WILL EASILY BLOW AROUND. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR 6 AM TO 8 PM MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ016-017-021>023-026-059>061-301100- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY- PETROLEUM-GARFIELD-MCCONE-PRAIRIE-NORTHERN PHILLIPS- SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS-NORTHERN VALLEY- 257 PM MST SUN JAN 29 2017 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT GUSTY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE FROM THE WEST TONIGHT ESPECIALLY FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF PHILLIPS AND PETROLEUM COUNTIES. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY GUSTY WINDS FROM THE WEST AND NORTHWEST OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY ON MONDAY. .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.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sustained winds of at least 40 mph were common through the late evening of the 29th through the overnight hours. A peak wind gust of 63 mph was recorded at 10:23 PM on the 29th at the Malta South US-191 DOT site.
Sustained winds near and above 40 mph were recorded at the Comertown Turn-Off MT-5 DOT site during the early morning hours. Times are estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2017
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: 668648, 668647.