Very cold arctic air, a recent fresh snow cover, and clearing skies all contributed to the coldest temperatures of the season, and the coldest wind chill values for portions of northeast Montana.
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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.
Very cold arctic air, a recent fresh snow cover, and clearing skies all contributed to the coldest temperatures of the season, and the coldest wind chill values for portions of 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 Feb 6, 8:22 PM MST, 6 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Glasgow MT 822 PM MST Wed Feb 6 2019 .DISCUSSION... Main change was to add some POPs in for the remainder of the evening and the early overnight hours as we have been getting some light snow here in Glasgow for several hours, and the radar isn't helping to dissuade their inclusion/addition. In addition, increased the cloud cover as well, which could save us from making a beeline to -30 in some areas (most notably in northern Phillips Co. tonight). Made some cosmetic changes to temperatures in part due to the increased cloud cover, but the general message of "it's going to be really cold tonight" is unchanged. It looks like tomorrow night will be colder with clearing skies throughout the day on Thursday with surface high pressure parked in the area. There's little to indicate any cloud cover tomorrow night as well. Keeping the wind chill advisory in place, although hitting the 10 mph criteria area-wide is going to be the challenge. As mentioned, the message of "it's going to be really cold tonight" is unchanged, and that headline should get and keep everyone's attention. Avery PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... Current weather system that has brought what seems like an unending snow is gradually pulling out of here. The SW flow is weakening and the flow should turn around to the NW later Thursday that will bring in some drier air. Arctic high pressure over the Canadian provinces will remain in control through Thursday Night, bringing the coldest air of the season. With fresh, deep snowcover over most of the area, temperatures will easily plummet at night if there is a just a brief period of clear skies and light winds. Therefore, this will be be the greatest forecast challenge. Thursday Night will be the coldest night for many as readings in the eastern zones will drop into the -30s. A similar patter will shape up for us over the weekend and into Tuesday, but the cut-off low will be further away, so little if any snow is expected. By the middle of next week, NW flow should take over and allow some milder air to move in. There is some good news on the horizon, we just have to be patient. TFJ && .AVIATION... CONDITIONS: VFR/MVFR. WINDS: North tonight and Thursday morning generally less than 10 kts. Winds should become variable by Thursday afternoon. DISCUSSION: Haze and occasional flurries / light snow showers will lower visibilities at times at TAF locations through mid-morning on Thursday. Skies should be clearer at KSDY and KGDV, with more clouds expected at KGGW. Did not include this in the TAFs at this point, but ceilings may briefly drop to IFR levels this evening and overnight. Avery && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Chill Advisory until 11 AM MST Thursday for Central and Southeast Phillips...Central and Southern Valley...Daniels... Dawson...Eastern Roosevelt...Garfield...McCone...Northern Phillips...Northern Valley...Petroleum...Prairie...Richland... Sheridan...Southwest Phillips...Western Roosevelt...Wibaux. && weather.gov/glasgow
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
With temperatures near -20 and wind speeds of 9 to 19 mph, wind chills values around -40 occurred in a few separate events. The coldest wind chill value of -48 was recorded at 11:54 AM on the 8th at the Sioux Pass MT-16 DOT site.
With temperatures in the -10s and -20s, and wind speeds of 9 to 18 mph, wind chill values in the -40s were common across Sheridan County. The coldest wind chill value of -48 was recorded at the Comertown Turn-Off MT-5 DOT site at 6:13 AM.
With temperatures of -20 and below and wind speeds of 9 to 14 mph, wind chill values in the -40s were common across Daniels County. The coldest wind chill value of -47 was recorded at the Navajo MT-5 DOT site at 7:16 AM.
Combining multiple observations from across western Roosevelt County, temperatures in the -20s and -30s and wind speeds of 9 to 16 mph, resulted in wind chill values from the -40s to the -60s. The coldest wind chill value of -66 was recorded at the Poplar RAWS site at 8:18 AM on the 8th.
With temperatures in the -10s and -20s and wind speeds of 9 to 17 mph, winds chills in the -40s were common across Dawson County. The coldest wind chill reading of -47 was recorded at 2:21 AM on the 7th at the Lindsay Divide MT-200 DOT site.
Even though winds were calm, the temperatures alone were near or colder than -40 for most of the night of the 7th and most of the morning of the 8th. The coldest temperature reading of -44 was recorded at 3:59 AM on the 8th at the Cow Creek MT-13 DOT site.
Combining observations from both Frazer and Glasgow, temperatures in the -20s and wind speeds from 9 to 17 mph combined to create wind chill values in the -40s and -50s in central Valley County. The coldest wind chill value of -55 was recorded at 12:53 AM at the Glasgow airport ASOS site.
With temperatures of -15 to -31 and wind speeds of 9 to 18 mph, wind chill values near and colder than -40 were common. The coldest wind chill value of -53 was recorded at 4:15 AM at the Malta airport ASOS site.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2019
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: 808563, 808561, 808560, 808562, 809535, 809536, 808559, 808558.