A cooler and wetter than average December led to some improvement to drought conditions at the beginning of January. However January turned out to be a warmer and drier than average month so extreme drought conditions continue to persist across the region.
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.
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 GGW wrote it up.
A cooler and wetter than average December led to some improvement to drought conditions at the beginning of January. However January turned out to be a warmer and drier than average month so extreme drought conditions continue to persist across the region.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
16 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in Sheridan County were at (D3-Extreme) for the whole county. These conditions remained the same through the rest of January.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in all of Daniels County were at (D3-Extreme). By the last week in January, the northwestern tip of Daniels County had improved to (D2-Severe) drought, while the remainder of the county remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in Eastern Roosevelt County were at (D3-Extreme) for the entire area. These conditions would remain the same through the end of January.
At the start of January the southern corner of Richland County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, while the remainder of the county was in (D3-Extreme) conditions. On the last week of January, the (D3-Extreme) conditions moved a little bit farther south, but still left the far southern corner in (D2-Severe) conditions.
To start January, 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 fourth week of January the (D3-Extreme) conditions moved very slightly to the southeast, but overall conditions still were in (D3-Extreme) drought covering the northwestern third of the county, while (D2-Severe) drought still covered the southeastern two thirds of the county.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in all of Wibaux County was at (D2-Severe) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of January.
To start the month of January, all but the northern border of Prairie County was in (D2-Severe) conditions, while the northern border remained in (D3-Extreme) conditions. This would last through the end of January.
To start January, all of Western Roosevelt County was in (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. This would continue through the end of January.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in all of McCone County was at (D3-Extreme) conditions. These conditions would remain the same through the end of January.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in all of Northern Valley County were at (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. During the last week of January all but the southeastern corner of the county improved to (D2-Severe) conditions, with the southeastern corner remaining in (D3-Extreme) conditions.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions in all of Central and Southern Valley County was in (D3-Extreme) drought. On the last week of January, the far northwestern corner of Central and Southern Valley County improved to (D2-Severe) drought, while the rest of Central and Southern Valley County remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.
To start January, ongoing drought conditions improved in western Garfield County to (D3-Extreme) drought, which would place all but extreme southeast Garfield County in (D3-Extreme) conditions. Southeast Garfield County was in (D2-Severe) drought at the beginning of January. These conditions would remain the same through the end of January.
To start the month of January, ongoing drought conditions were at (D3-Extreme) for all of Northern Phillips County. By the last week in January, all but the far western edge of Northern Phillips County had improved to (D2-Severe) drought, while the western edge remained in (D3-Extreme) drought.
To start January, all of Central and Southeast Phillips County improved to (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. By the last week of January, the northeastern third of Central and Southeast Phillips County improved to (D2-Severe) drought. The northwestern corner and the southern half of the area would remain in (D3-Extreme) drought. These conditions lasted through the end of January.
To start January, all of Petroleum County improved to (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. These conditions remained the same through the end of January.
To start January, all of the Little Rocky Mountains improved to (D3-Extreme) drought conditions. These conditions remained the same through the end of January.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2022
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 997554, 997564, 997572, 998770, 998787, 998796, 998797, 998798, 998800, 998801, 998803, 998811, 998813, 998814, 998815, 998816.