Montana, 2019

High Wind in Montana, January 27, 2019

January 27, 2019 · NWS TFX · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

A strong surface pressure gradient between high pressure in southern Idaho and a low pressure system and associated cold front moving southeast in Alberta/Saskatchewan helped strengthen winds for much of the CWA. Strong winds aloft and static stability at the mountaintop level also helped increase winds along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.

A strong surface pressure gradient between high pressure in southern Idaho and a low pressure system and associated cold front moving southeast in Alberta/Saskatchewan helped strengthen winds for much of the CWA. Strong winds aloft and static stability at the mountaintop level also helped increase winds along the Rocky Mountain Front. The strongest winds occurred ahead of the aforementioned cold front and continued following the frontal passage.

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 26, 10:49 PM MST, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 10:49 PM MST, 3 hours 11 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Event by event

6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Gallatin

When
January 27, 2:00 AM MST
Where
Gallatin forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

The Bridger Bowl Slushman's Lift station reported a wind gust of 64 mph.

High Wind, Cascade

When
January 27, 7:58 AM MST
Where
Cascade forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Other Federal Agency

Station 3 WNW Ranesford reported a wind gust of 58 mph.

High Wind, Judith Basin

When
January 27, 11:00 AM MST
Where
Judith Basin forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Other Federal Agency

Agrimet Moccasin station reported a wind gust of 58 mph.

High Wind, Cascade

When
January 27, 11:05 AM MST
Where
Cascade forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Department of Highways

MT DOT station Monarch Canyon reported a wind gust of 61 mph.

High Wind, Fergus

When
January 27, 11:15 AM MST
Where
Fergus forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AWOS

AWOS station MVH N Bar repoerted a wind gust of 60 mph.

High Wind, Jefferson

When
January 27, 12:04 PM MST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Measured
60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Unknown

Station 8 WNW Whitehall reported a wind gust of 69 mph.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2019

Sources

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: 794889, 794885, 794887, 794886, 794888, 794890.