With most of northeast Montana again experiencing below normal precipitation for the month of November, drought conditions did not change much, if at all, throughout the month. Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across the region.
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.
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.
With most of northeast Montana again experiencing below normal precipitation for the month of November, drought conditions did not change much, if at all, throughout the month. Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across the region. Additionally, there were reports of signs of negative impacts to the winter wheat crop across Montana and the Dakotas.
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 Oct 31, 8:26 PM MST, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Glasgow MT 926 PM MDT Tue Oct 31 2017 .SHORT TERM...for northeast Montana...tonight through Wed... 915PM Update... Precipitation had some trouble getting to the surface earlier, but has since filled in nicely south of the Missouri River, where rain is falling. North and east where snow was forecast, radar and observations suggest less snow than initially forecast, so trended downward slightly on the QPF and therefore, the snow forecast overnight. Even so, up to half an inch of snow is still possible overnight across many locations in the northeastern section of our CWA. Regarding winds on Wednesday, latest near term model guidance suggests breezy, but not hazardous, conditions on Fort Peck Lake at this time. Will leave this for the next shift to keep an eye on. Hickford 6PM Update... The inherited forecast looks to be in pretty good shape. Precipitation is moving into the forecast area from the west as of 6 PM. So far this is in the form of rain, although as this spreads further into northeast Montana, some areas will see rain, a rain/snow mix, or just snow. The general area described in the previous discussion below looks to still be a valid location for the rain/snow line. With the lowering cloud bases along the frontal boundary and areas upstream hinting at it, added some patchy fog to the forecast for tonight, mainly north and east of Glasgow. Winds will increase some throughout the evening as the precipitation moves through the area, but generally just breezy conditions at around 10 to 15 mph tonight are expected. For Wednesday, model guidance looks to be around 15 to 20 mph. As model guidance sometimes underestimates northwest winds, am leaning toward a Lake Wind Advisory, but want to look at a couple more things before making a final determination on that. Temperatures are still on track for Wednesday morning lows to be in the 30s across much of the CWA, with locations north and east of Glasgow dropping into the 20s. Hickford Previous Discussion... The stage is set for Halloween tonight and a storm system moving through the region now through Wednesday morning. Some virga showers are showing up on radar returns - the thicker of which are probably resulting in a few rain showers south and maybe some snow showers over N Valley County. Models have come into good focus showing this precipitation increasing in coverage and intensity as the night wears on. Westerly and northwesterly winds will accompany the cold front. Best model agreement shows that the cold front will not be directly north-to-south progressive which will allow rain to remain the predominant precip type south and west of Fort Peck Lake. Up to an inch of accumulating snow will be more likely north and east of the lake. A general meandering line extending through Whitewater, Glasgow, and Glendive looks to be the zone for a rain/snow mix. By tomorrow afternoon, a sort-of dry slot will keep addition mid- week snowfall away from a wide swath of NE Montana. BMickelson .LONG TERM...Wed night through Tue... Wednesday night, model consensus keeps NE Montana dry and cold under a very large broad upper-level trough stretched over the entire continent. Leading into the weekend, an up-stream piece of energy seems to take shape in the synoptic flow aloft which will gradually turn the steering flow here from the SW and drag an even colder cold front through our area Saturday through Sunday. Some associated snowfall is possible, but model uncertainty still remains that far out. BMickelson Previous long term discussion: Broad trof over North America lingers into the weekend. The orientation will change with trof digging down the west coast by the weekend with the breakdown of the Pacific ridge. For northeast Montana expect colder temperatures and as the upper flow turns from northwest to southwest, some overrunning precipitation. Best chance for precipitation will be into the weekend as a stacked low develops off the Pacific Northwest and deep Pacific moisture spreads across the northern Rockies. Temperatures mainly supporting snow as the primary precipitation type, with some rain possible in the afternoons. Ebert && .AVIATION... Flight conditions: MVFR this evening, then possible IFR by late tonight. Synopsis: An Alberta clipper system will sweep through the region beginning this evening, bringing showers to the greater NE Montana area. Some of those showers will change over to snow later tonight, mainly north of the Missouri River. Winds: Light and variable much of the evening, then setting up from the west and NW around 15 kts with the arrival of the showers later tonight and into Wednesday. BMickelson / Hickford && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && weather.gov/glasgow
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across central and southeast Phillips County as little precipitation fell during the month. Precipitation totals of 50 to 75 percent of normal did little to help drought recovery in that area.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across central and southern Valley County as little precipitation fell during the month. Precipitation totals of 25 to 70 percent of normal did little to help drought recovery in that area.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across Daniels County as little precipitation fell during the month. Precipitation totals of only 25 to 50 percent of normal did not help drought recovery in that area.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across the northwestern portion of Dawson County as little precipitation fell during the month. Precipitation totals of only 50 to 70 percent of normal did not help drought recovery in that area.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across the eastern Roosevelt County as little precipitation fell during the month. Precipitation totals of only 25 to 70 percent of normal did not help drought recovery in that area.
Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across Garfield County as little precipitation fell during the month. Precipitation totals were 50 to 90 percent of normal, and the prevailing drought conditions did not improve throughout November.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across the Little Rockies through the month. Precipitation totals were generally 110 to 150 percent of normal, although the above normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across McCone County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 10 to 50 percent of normal, although the below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across northern Phillips County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 10 to 50 percent of normal, although the below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across northern Valley County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 25 to 75 percent of normal, although the below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across Petroleum County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 50 to 75 percent of normal, although the below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across the western half of Prairie County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 10 to 50 percent of normal across the western half of the county, and about 50 to 70 percent of normal across the eastern half. The below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across the western half of Richland County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 50 to 70 percent of normal. The below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across Sheridan County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 50 to 90 percent of normal. The below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) drought conditions persisted across western Roosevelt County through the month. Precipitation totals were generally only 25 to 50 percent of normal. The below normal precipitation was not enough to have a major impact on the prevailing drought conditions.
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, November 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: 727857, 727858, 727859, 727860, 727861, 727863, 727864, 727866, 727867, 727871, 727873, 727877, 727880, 727881, 727882.