Montana, 2021High Wind in Montana, November 16 to 17, 2021
November 16 to 17, 2021 · NWS GGW · 14 events in 14 counties and zones
A strong low pressure system from the Canadian Rockies swept down through our region. Atmospheric conditions were favorable to allow these strong and gusty winds to reach the surface across all portions of northeast Montana.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 14
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.
A strong low pressure system from the Canadian Rockies swept down through our region. Atmospheric conditions were favorable to allow these strong and gusty winds to reach the surface across all portions of northeast Montana. Wind gusts from this storm reached as high as 80mph and Glasgow recorded its highest ever wind gust for November at 69mph.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 16, 2:07 AM MST, 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Nov 16, 2:07 AM MST, 25 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
207 AM MST Tue Nov 16 2021
.DISCUSSION...
A strong stacked low pressure system will move east across
southern Saskatchewan today. The system will bring a cold front
through the forecast area early this morning which will lead to
steady or slowly falling temperatures today. A very tight surface
gradient along with good mixing in cold air advection will bring
very strong west to northwest winds to the forecast area today.
Will maintain High Wind Warning over all of NE Montana through
this evening (11 pm or 06z). Wrap around snow associated with this
system will stay to the north in Saskatchewan for the most part.
The southern edge of the snow could drift into the northern zones
this afternoon and tonight which currently has a chance of light
snow in the forecast.
While the responsible low pressure system moves into Manitoba
tonight and western Ontario on Wednesday, the tight surface
gradient will remain over NE Montana. Gusty NW winds will continue
tonight and most of Wednesday at somewhat lower speeds than
today. A Lake Wind Advisory will be needed for Fort Peck Lake on
Wednesday. High pressure moves in from the west Wednesday Night
which will allow the winds to become light and variable. It will
allow for a cold night with lows in the single digits and teens
possibly colder in some cold air drainage areas.
Upper ridge moves in Friday with somewhat warmer temperatures.
Flow aloft turns to the NW over the weekend with a mainly cold
front on Saturday.
&&
.AVIATION...
UPDATED: 0900Z
FLIGHT CONDITIONS: VFR today and most of tonight. Areas of MVFR
cigs possible late tonight.
LLWS: Possible this morning.
WINDS: A cold front early this morning will bring gusty west
winds. Look for west winds at 30 to 40 knots with gusts up to 55
knots today turning NW this evening and continuing at 25 to 35
knots with gusts to 45 knots tonight and Wednesday morning.
Obvious crosswind concerns will rise for north- south oriented
runways. Expect amendments.
SYNOPSIS: A strong low pressure system will move across southern
Saskatchewan today and into Manitoba tonight. Look for strong west
winds today turning to the NW tonight. Skies will be mostly clear
this morning. Low and mid level clouds on the back side of the low
will move in from the north this afternoon and overspread the
region tonight which may result in MVFR cigs at times.
&&
.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning until 11 PM MST this evening for Central and
Southeast Phillips...Southwest Phillips...Central and Southern
Valley...Daniels... Dawson...Eastern
Roosevelt...Garfield...McCone...Northern Phillips...Northern
Valley...Petroleum...Prairie...Richland... Sheridan...Western
Roosevelt...Wibaux.
&&
weather.gov/glasgow
High Wind, Little Rocky Mountains
- When
- November 16, 2:32 AM MST to 11:19 AM MST
- Where
- Little Rocky Mountains forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
In this southwest portion of Phillips County, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the early to the late morning hours. The peak wind gusts of 60 mph were recorded both at 3:41 AM at the Manning Corral Dogtown RAWS site and at 4:32 AM at the Zortman BLM mesonet site.
High Wind, Central and Se Phillips
- When
- November 16, 3:15 AM MST to 6:19 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the early morning to the early evening hours. The peak wind gust of 64 mph was recorded at the Malta Airport ASOS site at 4:15 AM.
High Wind, Garfield
- When
- November 16, 4:48 AM MST to 3:48 PM MST
- Where
- Garfield forecast zone
- Measured
- 65 kt (75 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- ASOS
- Coordinates
- 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Across multiple sites in Garfield County, sustained winds of at least 40 mph began in the early morning and lasted through the early afternoon. The peak wind gust of 75 mph was recorded at the Jordan Airport ASOS site at 12:48 PM.
High Wind, Central and Southern Valley
- When
- November 16, 5:44 AM MST to 8:44 PM MST
- Where
- Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Across multiple sites in Central and Southern Valley County, wind speeds of at least 40 mph began as early as the early morning and ended as late as the early nighttime hours. The peak wind gusts of 71 mph were recorded at the King Coulee RAWS site both at 9:44 AM and 3:44 PM.
High Wind, McCone
- When
- November 16, 5:45 AM MST to 8:52 PM MST
- Where
- McCone forecast zone
- Measured
- 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
For multiple sites across McCone County, winds speeds of at least 40 mph were common from as early as the early morning to as late as the late evening hours. The peak wind gust of 67 mph was recorded at the Fort Peck Dam mesonet site at 1:52 PM.
High Wind, Western Roosevelt
- When
- November 16, 6:36 AM MST to 6:53 PM MST
- Where
- Western Roosevelt forecast zone
- Measured
- 65 kt (75 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
At the McDonalds MT-13 DOT site, sustained wind speeds at least 40 mph were common from the early morning to the mid afternoon hours. The peak wind gust at this site was 75 mph and was recorded from 9:16 AM to 9:17 AM. At the Lustre Mesonet site sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the early morning to the early afternoon hours. The peak wind gust at this site was 61 mph and occurred at 7:31 AM. At the Wolf Point Clayton Airport ASOS site, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from mid morning to late evening hours. The peak wind gust at this site was 67 mph and occurred at 11:53 AM.
High Wind, Wibaux
- When
- November 16, 6:38 AM MST to November 17, 4:38 AM MST
- Where
- Wibaux forecast zone
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 46.965, -104.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
At the Beaver Hill I-94 DOT site, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the early morning on November 16th, to the early morning on November 17th. The peak wind gust of 80 mph was recorded from 6:01 PM to 6:09 PM.
High Wind, Northern Valley
- When
- November 16, 6:44 AM MST to 2:44 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
- Coordinates
- 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
At the Bluff Creek RAWS site, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the early morning to the mid afternoon hours. The peak wind gust was 68 mph and occurred at 7:44 AM.
High Wind, Daniels
- When
- November 16, 7:43 AM MST to 6:57 PM MST
- Where
- Daniels forecast zone
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
At the Navajo MT-5 DOT site, sustained wind speeds at least 40 mph were common from the morning to the late evening hours. The peak wind gust at this site was 68 mph and occurred from 2:15 PM to 2:16 PM.
High Wind, Sheridan
- When
- November 16, 7:56 AM MST to 9:50 PM MST
- Where
- Sheridan forecast zone
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Across Sheridan County, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph began as the early morning hours and lasted as late as the nighttime hours. The peak wind gust of 68 mph was recorded at the Comertown Turn-Off MT-5 DOT site at 3:18 PM.
High Wind, Dawson
- When
- November 16, 8:49 AM MST to 9:08 PM MST
- Where
- Dawson forecast zone
- Measured
- 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Across Dawson County, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from morning until night. The peak wind gusts of 67 mph were recorded at the Lindsay Divide MT-200 DOT site from 9:49 AM to 9:55 AM.
High Wind, Richland
- When
- November 16, 9:05 AM MST to 1:56 PM MST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Across Richland County, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the early morning through the mid afternoon. The peak wind gust of 65 mph was recorded at the Sioux Pass MT-16 DOT site at 9:35 AM.
High Wind, Eastern Roosevelt
- When
- November 16, 9:45 AM MST to 8:49 PM MST
- Where
- Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
At the Stateline US-2 DOT site, sustained wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common from the morning hours to early nighttime hours. The peak wind gust at that site was 66 mph and occurred at 12:46 PM.
High Wind, Prairie
- When
- November 16, 10:08 AM MST
- Where
- Prairie forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- RAWS
- Coordinates
- 46.861, -105.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A 59 mph wind gust was measured at the Big Sheep Mountain RAWS site at 10:08 AM.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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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: 993590, 993596, 993602, 993604, 993541, 993546, 993500, 993606, 993601, 993584, 993501, 993538, 993544, 993537.