Montana, 2019

High Wind in Montana, November 27, 2019

November 27, 2019 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

One of the most damaging northeast wind events in the past several decades occurred across western Montana. Wind speeds nearing 70 mph caused acres of downed trees and subsequent power and residential infrastructure damage.

Where it happened

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.

  • 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

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$215,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 MSO wrote it up.

One of the most damaging northeast wind events in the past several decades occurred across western Montana. Wind speeds nearing 70 mph caused acres of downed trees and subsequent power and residential infrastructure damage.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 26, 2:39 PM MST, 9 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 26, 2:39 PM MST, 9 hours 21 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When
November 27, 12:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where
Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$145,000
Reported by
Utility Company
Coordinates
47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A local utility remarked that this was one of the most damaging storms they've ever experienced. The owner of a tree farm, located north of Echo Lake, stated to a local newspaper that he had never seen such damage since 1958. The Echo Lake area was one of the most hard hit: four houses had minor structure damage, one truck and trailer were totaled, and one mobile home had moderate to severe damage. Dozens of trees, mostly pines and firs, some estimated to be 100 feet tall and three feet wide, were reported to have fallen in this area. One resident was sleeping when a tree fell onto his house into his bedroom, but escaped unharmed. Sporadic tree damage and power outages were reported in the Columbia Falls to Lake Blaine areas. There were dozens of fallen large trees, as well as broken power poles and lines, along Highway 83 between Ferndale and Swan Lake. One resident reported at least 10 fallen trees on their property, with one 80 foot tree damaging their garage. Multiple trees, some snapped in half and some uprooted, went down over Highway 35 between mile-markers 19 and 23, causing damage to telephone and power lines. This also caused the highway to be closed for two hours. Several homes were damaged and in one case, a large tree smashed through the roof and lower room of a home, but didn't cause any injuries. Three large trees, up to three feet in diameter, took out a power line on Finley Point.

High Wind, Kootenai/Cabinet Region

When
November 27, 3:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where
Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$70,000
Reported by
Utility Company
Coordinates
48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There were multiple locations along the western foothills of the Whitefish Range that were impacted by the high winds. At the end of Burma Road, residents estimated at least 5 acres of pine and fir trees were blown down. This caused some roof damage to several homes. A metal roof partially peeled off of a trailer home located due west, across US-93 on Acres Lane. Billboard signs were blown down between Eureka and the Canadian Border. The utility company reported two power poles damaged, and power was out for 20 hours. In the Glen Lake area, five miles east of Eureka, countless trees were strewn all over the roads, especially along Stevens and Therriault roads. At one point, emergency vehicles couldn't immediately get to a person who was on oxygen. A power company reported that they lost 8 span of power line and 8 power poles in the Graves Creek drainage area, where they reported that at least 1500 yards by 500 yards of trees blown down. They were cleaning up the damage for a few weeks after the event. They estimated that 20 log truck loads would come out of there. Multiple trees in the Dickey Lake area also had fallen on power lines. The highway department reported dozens of trees down five miles south of Troy, or between mile-markers 30 and 32 on Highway 56. A tree fell on a utility truck in this area, but no one was hurt.

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, November 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 864438, 862287.