Drought in Montana, April 1 to 30, 2022

Name: Drought in Montana, April 1 to 30, 2022
Start: 2022-04-01T00:00
End: 2022-04-30T23:59
Location: Montana

April 1 to 30, 2022 · NWS GGW · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

Ongoing drought conditions continued into April. However two large storms impacted the eastern and southeastern parts of our area leading to improvement in the drought for those locations.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 16

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 GGW wrote it up.

Ongoing drought conditions continued into April. However two large storms impacted the eastern and southeastern parts of our area leading to improvement in the drought for those locations. In the meantime the northern and western parts of our area saw only average to below average precipitation for April so drought conditions stayed the same in those areas.

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 Mar 31, 1:42 PM MST, 10 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 1:42 PM MST, 10 hours 18 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
242 PM MDT Thu Mar 31 2022

.DISCUSSION...
Not too much to update this afternoon.

Models are showing a chance of showers for parts of the area
Saturday evening/night and again next week but with the current
drought, the confidence doesn't look great. TFJ

Previous Discussion...
Synoptic Setup: A very turbulent spring time pattern is setting
up as extremely narrow and amplified ridges and trough couplets
move across the region in 24 to 48 hours periods. This will lead
to a lot of mesoscale uncertainty and an increased chance for rain
overall through the extended forecast compared to the last few
weeks.

Today through Friday: A weak trough moves through the region. It
appears to be mostly dry, but random ensemble groups do add a
couple hundredths of precip with the passage. This however seems
to jump Friday afternoon when convective elements start to factor
in. Used a blend of the CAMs' NPoP along with the NBM EXP in 3
hour increments to capture this convection which should die by
Friday evening.

Friday night to Saturday morning: Skies partially clear out except
for high cirrus or chinook arch clouds as a weak ridge passes by.

Saturday afternoon and Saturday night: A large enough trough
passes by to generate a low pressure center and drag it along the
region raising gusty winds through the periods and rain chances
for Saturday night. A slug of moisture is definitely expected here
though the bulk of ensemble runs take it through southern Montana.
There are a few members that drag it through northern Montana
instead, but the chances for this are much lower. The location
that does get hit will receive anywhere from a couple hundredths
to just over a tenth of an inch of QPF.

Sunday night to Monday: Ridge passes over the region in the big 3
deterministic models. This will warm afternoon highs up into the
50s and 60s.

Monday night to Tuesday night: Large scale trough passes through
the region bringing cooler air and maybe a good chance for rain
and snow roughly Tuesday morning and lasting about 36 hours.
Though mesoscale details are washed out in the ensemble average.
Wind behind the initial passage of a front associated with this
trough is also worth watching due to the differential strength of
the cold air and any extra CAA it brings to enhance gusts in the
passage.

Wednesday night onward: Flow becomes northwest with cool high
pressure settling in at the surface. Dry conditions are expected
here onward as a ridge to the west gains influence and stabilizes
the atmosphere.

GAH

&&

.AVIATION...

UPDATED: 2045Z

FLIGHT CAT: VFR

DISCUSSION: Cumulus clouds and NW winds will diminish upon sunset
this evening. Higher level (mid-level) clouds will move in after
midnight (06z) tonight. Showers are possible mostly Friday
afternoon along with gusty NW winds, especially near any showers
and virga. TFJ

&&

.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Lake Wind Advisory until 9 PM MDT this evening For Fort Peck
Lake for Central and Southern Valley...Garfield.

&&

weather.gov/glasgow

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Sheridan

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ongoing drought conditions in Sheridan County continued into April. The southern quarter as well as the eastern border of Sheridan County were in (D3-Extreme) conditions, while the rest of the county remained in (D2-Severe) drought. On the third week the far northeast corner of the county improved to (D2-Severe) drought. On the last week of April, all but the southeast corner of Sheridan County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions, while the southeast corner remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Daniels

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Daniels forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions in all but the far southwestern corner were at (D2-Severe) drought, while the southwestern corner remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of the month.

Drought, Eastern Roosevelt

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions in Eastern Roosevelt County was in (D3-Extreme) conditions for the entire county. On the fourth week of April the far northeastern corner improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the remainder of Eastern Roosevelt County remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Richland

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At the start of April all of Richland County was in (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the last week in April, the southern half of Richland County had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the northern half of Richland County remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Dawson

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, the northwestern third of Dawson County was in (D3-Extreme) conditions and the southeastern two thirds of Dawson County were in (D2-Severe) conditions. On the last week of April all of Dawson County improved to (D2-Severe) conditions.

Drought, Wibaux

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Wibaux forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 46.965, -104.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions Wibaux County was at (D3-Extreme) drought in the northern quarter of the county, while the southern three quarters of the county remained in (D2-Severe) conditions. On the third week of April, all but the northern border of Wibaux County improved to (D2-Severe) drought while the northern border remained at (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the last week of April, all but the far southeast corner of Wibaux County had improved to (D2-Severe) drought, with the far southeast corner improving to (D1-Moderate) drought conditions.

Drought, Prairie

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Prairie forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 46.861, -105.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start the month of April, all but the northern border of Prairie County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, while the northern border remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the last week of April all of Prairie had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions.

Drought, Western Roosevelt

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Western Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, all of Western Roosevelt County was in (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of the month.

Drought, McCone

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: McCone forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions in all of McCone County was at (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the last week of April all but the northern part of McCone County along the Missouri River had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the northern part remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Northern Valley

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Northern Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions in all but the southeastern corner of Northern Valley County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, with the southeastern corner remaining in (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of April.

Drought, Central and Southern Valley

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions in the far northwestern corner of Central and Southern Valley County was at (D2-Severe) conditions, while the rest of Central and Southern Valley County were in (D3-Extreme) conditions. By the last week of April, the southwestern corner had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions.

Drought, Garfield

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Garfield forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions were at (D3-Extreme) conditions in all but the extreme southeastern corner of Garfield County, which was in (D2-Severe) drought. By the last week of April, all but the northwestern corner of Garfield County had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the northwestern corner remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Northern Phillips

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Northern Phillips forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start the month of April, ongoing drought conditions were at (D2-Severe) for all but the far western edge of Northern Phillips County, which was in (D3-Extreme) drought. These conditions would remain the same through the end of April.

Drought, Central and Se Phillips

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, ongoing drought conditions in the northeastern third of Central and Southeast Phillips County was at (D2-Severe) conditions while the northwestern corner and the southern half of the county were in (D3-Extreme) drought. These conditions would last through the end of April.

Drought, Petroleum

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Petroleum forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 47.118, -108.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, all of Petroleum County was at (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. By the last week of April, the southeastern corner of Petroleum County had improved to (D2-Severe) conditions while the rest of Petroleum County remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.

Drought, Little Rocky Mountains

When: April 1, 12:00 AM MST to April 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where: Little Rocky Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

To start April, all of the Little Rocky Mountains was at (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. These conditions remained the same through the end of April.

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, April 2022

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: 1014687, 1014688, 1014713, 1014715, 1014717, 1014750, 1014754, 1014759, 1014761, 1018432, 1018439, 1018469, 1018561, 1018567, 1018571, 1018575.