A Pacific system brought strong 700 mb winds and helped develop a lee side trough, resulting in high winds across much of the region. The strong winds initially developed over the Rocky Mountain Front on January 3rd but then spread over the plains and portions of southwest Montana.
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 TFX wrote it up.
A Pacific system brought strong 700 mb winds and helped develop a lee side trough, resulting in high winds across much of the region. The strong winds initially developed over the Rocky Mountain Front on January 3rd but then spread over the plains and portions of southwest 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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 4, 5:02 AM MST, 3 hours 43 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 502 AM MST Sat Jan 4 2020 .SYNOPSIS... Strong winds will be fairly widespread on Saturday as a Pacific weather system cross the region, also bringing a period of snow to the mountains. Unsettled and windy condtions continue through at least the first part of next week with temperatures remaining near to above seasonal averages. && .DISCUSSION... Saturday and Sunday...An upper level low located over the Gulf of Alaska moves eastward. An area of higher heights is located along the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The height gradient between these two systems tightens and a westerly cross- barrier flow sets up across The Great Divide. Leeside troughing will occur along the The Rocky Mountain Front, and with the Polar Front Jet moving overhead, all of the necessary ingredients for a high wind event will be in place. Expect partly cloudy skies across north and central Montana on Saturday. High temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 50 degrees in some parts of central Montana on Saturday afternoon. Moisture advecting into the area will favor mountain snowfall. With high winds and snowfall expected over The Northern Rocky Mountain Front, visibility will be reduced at times due to blowing snow. During the overnight hours of Saturday night into Sunday morning, expect winds to decrease becoming gusty with wind speeds that remain below high wind criteria. Sunday, expect snowfall to continue along The Great Divide and in West Yellowstone. - Fogleman Sunday Night through Wednesday.... An unsettled weather pattern persists across the region with additional waves of energy from the Pacific moving across the area through the first half of next week. Windy conditions will persist with temperatures remaining somewhat above seasonal averages, especially across north central MT. Another period of strong winds is likely for areas east of the Rocky Mountain Front Sunday night and Monday as another wind maximum moves across the region with surface low pressure moving east across southern AB/SK. Precipitation will primarily be focused along the continental divide through this period and may be quite persistent over areas near Marias Pass as moist flow from the west impinges in the northern Rockies. Winter weather highlights are also possible as timing of higher impact periods next week become more clear. Wednesday night through Next Saturday... A turn toward colder and wetter conditions is expected late this week into next weekend as a fairly well supported change in the large scale weather pattern is likely to occur. Details of how cold and timing/amounts of snow are still highly uncertain, but models are converging on the timing for the first push of colder air from the north to arrive as early as Wednesday night with temperatures falling below seasonal averages through the weekend. Its also worth noting that this looks like a fairly prolonged colder weather pattern that may persist well into the next couple of weeks once in place. Hoenisch && .AVIATION... Updated 502 AM MST Sat Jan 4 2020 (04/12Z TAF Period) Expect VFR conditions throughout this TAF period for KCTB, KHVR, KGTF, KLWT and KHLN. KBZN, KEKS and KWYS will experience periods of MVFR due to 4SM -SHSN, with KWYS also experiencing CIG BKN025. Widespread gusty winds will occur, today, with high winds expected over The Rocky Mountain Front and reaching across north and north- central Montana. LLWS is forecast at all airfields, and turbulence will impact aviation operations. - Fogleman && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 47 28 39 27 / 10 0 0 0 CTB 44 25 37 22 / 20 10 0 10 HLN 43 22 35 23 / 40 10 0 10 BZN 42 16 33 18 / 50 30 0 10 WYS 29 5 23 3 / 80 50 40 40 DLN 37 11 27 13 / 50 20 10 10 HVR 47 26 40 25 / 0 0 0 10 LWT 46 24 37 24 / 10 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 6 AM this morning to 9 PM MST this evening Cascade...Central and Southern Lewis and Clark... Chouteau...Eastern Pondera...Eastern Teton...Judith Basin... Liberty...Toole. High Wind Warning until 9 PM MST this evening Northern Rocky Mountain Front...Southern Rocky Mountain Front. High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM MST this evening Blaine...Fergus...Hill. Winter Weather Advisory until 9 PM MST this evening Northern Rocky Mountain Front. High Wind Warning until 9 PM MST this evening Eastern Glacier. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
803 AM MST SAT JAN 4 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0754 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 SW CUT BANK 48.60N 112.37W
01/04/2020 M76 MPH GLACIER MT ASOS
&&
MOLDAN15 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Cut Bank Airport reports a non thunderstorm wind gust of 66 kts and a sustained wind of 48 kts from 745 to 845 am.
Public reports a non thunderstorm wind gust of 62 kts at 1 NNE Cut Bank.
NWS Great Falls reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 56 kts.
A station at 2 W Ledger reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 52 kts.
A station near Sieben reported a non thu8nderstrom wind gust of 54 kts.
A station 3 SSW of Loma reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 56 kts.
A station 3.5 SE of Virginia City reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 64 kts.
A station 6 WSW of Havre reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 56 kts.
A station at Kevin reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 54 kts.
MDOT station at Geyser reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 50 kts.
A station at 3 WNW of Townsend (Ginger) reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 51 kts.
MDOT station a 5 ESE Denton reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 51 kts.
MDOT station at 2 SE Browning reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 55 kts.
MDOT station at 2 NW Pendroy reports a non thunderstorm wind gust of 51 kts.
A station at 13 S Bynum reported a non thunderstorm wind gust of 64 kts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2020
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: 872719, 872716, 872750, 872746, 872749, 872752, 872763, 872753, 872747, 872755, 872762, 872760, 872713, 872723, 872758.