Montana, 2022Drought in Montana, December 1 to 19, 2022
December 1 to 19, 2022 · NWS GGW · 1 event in 1 county or zone
Drought improvement moved northward from southeast Montana enough to remove Prairie County from drought.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
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.
Drought improvement moved northward from southeast Montana enough to remove Prairie County from drought.
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 30, 8:42 PM MST, 3 hours 18 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Nov 30, 8:42 PM MST, 3 hours 18 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
842 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022
.DISCUSSION...
Temperatures are one of the biggest challenges this evening as
warm air advection and thick clouds should keep them from falling
tonight. Temps will struggle tomorrow as a cold front drops in
during the morning.
Just made slight adjustments to temps and winds through Thursday
morning while the rest of the forecast looked good. TFJ
Previous Discussion...
A high pressure ridge is currently in place, and mainly high
clouds are over the region.
Wednesday night into Thursday:
The shallow ridge will move off to the east by Thursday afternoon
as a trough makes its way into northeast Montana. Slightly warmer
temperatures are expected on Thursday.
Thursday night:
Snowfall will begin east of the divide early Thursday night and
spread eastward later in the night. The ensemble models are coming
into agreement with snow amounts by suggesting an overall range of
2 to 4 inches across most of the area. Winter weather advisories
have been issued everywhere except for the southeastern counties
because snow amounts are slightly below advisory criteria in those
locations.
Friday and Friday night:
Snowfall will likely linger in the eastern counties until early
afternoon. High temperatures in the single digits will filter in
behind this system, and wind chills will range from 10 below to 20
below zero. Temperatures will drop below zero in the north Friday
night.
Saturday and beyond:
Temperatures will rebound for the weekend due to ridging before
dropping again early next week.
&&
.AVIATION...
Updated: 0335Z
Flight Category: VFR, but conditions will lower to IFR late
Thursday.
Discussion: A cold front will switch winds Thursday from SE to NW.
Lower cigs will follow behind with conditions dropping below VFR
from west to east late in the day, reaching KSDY about 00Z Friday.
Winds: SE turning to the NW at KGGW about 10z with cold front
pushing SE. Winds become NW at KGDV/KSDY and increase to about 10
kts. TFJ
&&
.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM Thursday to 5 PM MST Friday
for Central and Southeast Phillips...Central and Southern
Valley...Daniels...Garfield...McCone...Northern Phillips...
Northern Valley...Petroleum...Sheridan...Southwest Phillips...
Western Roosevelt.
&&
weather.gov/glasgow
Drought, Prairie
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 19, 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 December, ongoing drought conditions in all of the northeastern two thirds of Prairie County were in (D2-Severe) conditions while the southwestern third of Prairie County was in (D1-Moderate) drought. On the third week of December, all of Prairie County had improved to (D1-Moderate) drought.
- 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.
- Drought in Kansas, December 1 to 31, 2022$45 million · 3 events
- Drought in Missouri, December 1 to 31, 2022$12 million · 7 events
- Drought in Oklahoma, December 1 to 31, 202247 events
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Colorado, December 1 to 2, 202291 kt wind · 35 events
- Drought in California, December 1 to 31, 202231 events
- Drought in Nebraska, December 1 to 31, 202227 events
- Drought in Florida, December 1 to 31, 202226 events
- Drought in Kansas, December 1 to 31, 202224 events
- Drought in Kentucky, December 1 to 19, 202222 events
- Drought in Oklahoma, December 1 to 31, 202222 events
- Drought in Nebraska, December 1 to 31, 202221 events
- Drought in Tennessee, December 1 to 13, 202220 events
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: 1065855.