Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, January 4 to 7, 2022

Name: Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, January 4 to 7, 2022
Start: 2022-01-04T01:30
End: 2022-01-07T22:00
Location: Montana

January 4 to 7, 2022 · NWS TFX · 20 events in 12 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 20

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 TFX wrote it up.

Another cold trough moved into the state for more sub-zero temperatures and wind chills. Warning criteria wind chill values (-40F) were more common with this surge than the previous one as a 1044 mb surface high moved southward from the Canadian Prairies. The cold air was followed by strong westerly flow, which brought another round of strong surface winds to the plains and portions of southwest MT. Temperatures remained below freezing along the Rocky for a portion of the wind event and brought another round of ground blizzard conditions.

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 4:35 PM MST, 8 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 4:35 PM MST, 8 hours 55 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Event by event

12 extreme cold/wind chill, 5 high wind, 2 winter storm, 1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Glacier

When: January 4, 1:30 AM MST
Where: Eastern Glacier forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

KCTB recorded a -40F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 4, 4:24 AM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT Browning station recorded a -40F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 4, 5:42 AM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT Pendroy station recorded a -42F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hill

When: January 4, 7:31 AM MST
Where: Hill forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet station 27 N Havre recorded a -46F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Toole

When: January 4, 7:50 AM MST
Where: Toole forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT Sweetgrass station recorded a -45F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Liberty

When: January 4, 8:55 AM MST
Where: Liberty forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet station 9 N Joplin recorded a -44F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Pondera

When: January 4, 9:00 AM MST
Where: Eastern Pondera forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet station near Conrad (6 NW Ledger) recorded a -40F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Fergus

When: January 4, 9:58 AM MST
Where: Fergus forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

K1OM recorded a -44F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cascade

When: January 4, 10:05 AM MST
Where: Cascade forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT Monarch station measured a -43F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Judith Basin

When: January 4, 10:55 AM MST
Where: Judith Basin forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT Geyser station recorded a -47F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Blaine

When: January 4, 9:45 PM MST
Where: Blaine forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet station 7 SE Hogeland recorded a -46F wind chill.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hill

When: January 6, 7:53 AM MST
Where: Hill forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

KHVR recorded a -44F wind chill.

Winter Storm, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 6, 3:00 PM MST to January 7, 8:00 PM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

Automated equipment at Badger Pass estimated an event total of 10 inches of new snow. Equipment at Mount Lockhart estimated an event total of 10 inches of new snow. Equipment at Waldron estimated an event total of 8 inches of new snow.

Winter Storm, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 6, 4:00 PM MST to January 7, 10:00 PM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

Automated equipment at Copper Camp estimated an event total of 9 inches of new snow.

Blizzard, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 7, 3:21 AM MST to 7:00 AM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT reports severe driving conditions in the browning and East glacier areas due to blizzard conditions. Multiple road closures were reported and tribal offices closed operations for the day.

High Wind, North Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 7, 6:45 AM MST
Where: North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet station 5 SE Browning measured a 54 kt (62 mph) non-thunderstorm wind gust.

High Wind, Madison

When: January 7, 7:04 AM MST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways

MDT station at Raynold's Pass measured a 53 kt (61 mph) non-thunderstorm wind gust.

High Wind, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When: January 7, 7:31 AM MST
Where: Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet station Dellwo measured a 70 kt (81 mph) non-thunderstorm wind gust.

High Wind, Cascade

When: January 7, 12:30 PM MST
Where: Cascade forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

Mesonet Cascade station measured a 51 kt (59 mph) non-thunderstorm wind gust.

High Wind, Eastern Glacier

When: January 7, 12:56 PM MST
Where: Eastern Glacier forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS

KCTB measured a 53 kt (61 mph) non-thunderstorm wind gust.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, January 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: 1002743, 1002744, 1002747, 1002758, 1002761, 1002759, 1002746, 1002752, 1002748, 1002749, 1002754, 1002763, 1003111, 1076204, 1002768, 1002770, 1002777, 1002767, 1002769, 1002771.