High Wind in Montana, November 5 to 6, 2022

Name: High Wind in Montana, November 5 to 6, 2022
Start: 2022-11-05T09:05
End: 2022-11-06T07:03
Location: Montana

November 5 to 6, 2022 · NWS GGW · 13 events in 12 counties and zones

A strong Alberta Clipper system developed over southern Alberta and sped to the east over Saskatchewan. A strong pressure gradient was generated by the low as it strengthened, causing strong and gusty winds over northeast Montana with numerous gusts over 60 mph.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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.

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 5, 2:10 AM MST, 6 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 5, 2:10 AM MST, 6 hours 55 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
310 AM MDT Sat Nov 5 2022

.DISCUSSION...

Main focus for today will be the high wind event developing
within the next couple hours.

Surface Low has developed in southern Alberta and pushes a weak
warm front through the area this morning. A cold front will be in
hot pursuit with a rain band developing ahead of it and quickly
moving through the area this morning and exiting by about noon.
Rainfall totals look a bit higher than previous thought with a
tenth of an inch possible in a few spots, but overall not a big
rainmaker. Now as this Low intensifies and moves across
Saskatchewan it develops a strong pressure gradient which will be
responsible for the strong winds over the CWA today. A High Wind
Warning goes into effect from 6AM until Midnight across the whole
area with the strongest winds over Phillips and Petroleum county.
West winds between 30 to 50 mph with gusts up to 70 mph will make
for hazardous travel for high profile vehicles, especially on
US Highway 191 and Montana Highways 24, 13 and 16. As the Low
moves east this afternoon slacking of the pressure gradient should
allow winds to slowly decrease overnight. Sunday looks like a
calmer and quieter day, albeit considerably colder with max
temperatures in the 20s and 30s replacing todays highs in the 50s.

Next event to consider is the next system that will impact the
area Monday and Tuesday.

Deep upper level trough digs down across the West and sends a
southwesterly flow aloft towards Montana by Sunday night. Latest
model runs continue to bring the favored moisture fetch more to
the west over Central Montana and more of a dry slot across our
CWA. Consequently snow totals have been trending lower with the
highest snow accumulations by Tuesday morning north of the
Missouri River in the 1.5 to 4 inch range, and areas south of the
Missouri River in the trace to 2 inch range. This system continues
to be monitored closely.

For Tuesday through Thursday night models remain split on what
may occur. Some models take the upper level trough further south
which would result in the precipitation going south with it, other
models don't take the trough as far south which results in our
area receiving more snowfall. For now have broad brushed the
extended to include snow chances over the area and will continue
to evaluate as time goes on.

-Bernhart

&&

.AVIATION...

LAST UPDATED: 0900Z

FLIGHT CAT RANGE: VFR (Brief MVFR possible in heavier rain
showers).

LLWS: Likely across all terminals before 19Z.

DISCUSSION: A fast moving band of rain will move through the area
this morning and be gone by 18Z. Main story however will be the
strong and gusty winds moving through with todays cold front.
Clear skies and dry conditions Sunday with winds becoming lighter
by 18Z.

WIND: SW 15-30kts gusts to 40kts through 15Z, becoming W 25-40kts
gusts to 55kts 15Z-00Z, becoming W-NW 25-35kts gusts 40-45kts
00Z-06Z.

-Bernhart

&&

.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning until midnight MDT tonight for Central and
Southeast Phillips...Central and Southern Valley...Daniels...
Dawson...Eastern Roosevelt...Garfield...McCone...Northern
Phillips...Northern Valley...Petroleum...Prairie...Richland...
Sheridan...Southwest Phillips...Western Roosevelt...Wibaux.

&&

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

13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Little Rocky Mountains

When: November 5, 9:05 AM MST to 9:58 PM MST
Where: Little Rocky Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common in the Little Rocky Mountains from the mid morning to the night time hours. The peak wind gust of 66 mph was recorded multiple times between 10:05 AM and 2:00 PM and again at 8:58 PM and 9:00 PM at the Malta South US-191 DOT site (MTMAL).

High Wind, Western Roosevelt

When: November 5, 9:55 AM MST to 6:25 PM MST
Where: Western Roosevelt forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common in West Roosevelt County from the mid morning to the late evening hours. The peak wind gust of 68 mph was recorded at 9:55 AM and 10:02 AM at the Wolf Point ASOS site (KOLF).

High Wind, Garfield

When: November 5, 11:43 AM MST to 6:29 PM MST
Where: Garfield forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common in Garfield County from the late morning to the late evening hours. The peak wind gust of 68 mph was recorded at 2:08 PM at the South Sawmill Creek RAWS site (SSMM8).

High Wind, Central and Southern Valley

When: November 5, 11:50 AM MST to 10:30 PM MST
Where: Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common in Central and Southern Valley County from late morning to the night time hours. The peak wind gust was 81 mph at the Saint Marie Marco mesonet site (07MT) at 9:10 PM, with another high wind gust of 74 mph at the Saint Marie Marco mesonet site (07MT) at 12:50 PM.

High Wind, Central and Se Phillips

When: November 5, 12:15 PM MST
Where: Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A peak wind gust of 74 mph occurred at 12:15 PM at the Malta Airport AWOS (KM75).

High Wind, Northern Valley

When: November 5, 1:00 PM MST
Where: Northern Valley forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Public reported a camper was rolled over in the wind and torn to pieces. This occurred at 7 SE Frenchman Reservoir. Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.

High Wind, Northern Valley

When: November 5, 1:44 PM MST
Where: Northern Valley forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: RAWS
Coordinates: 48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A peak wind gust of 58 mph occurred at 1:44 PM at the Bluff Creek RAWS site (BLUM8).

High Wind, McCone

When: November 5, 1:50 PM MST to 10:15 PM MST
Where: McCone forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common in McCone County from the early afternoon to the late night time hours. The peak wind gust of 69 mph was recorded at 3:50 PM and 4:50 PM at the Fort Peck Dam mesonet site (GGWFP).

High Wind, Daniels

When: November 5, 1:57 PM MST to 7:46 PM MST
Where: Daniels forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of at least 40 mph were common in Daniels County from mid afternoon to the early night time hours. The peak wind gust of 60 mph was recorded at 2:02 PM and 2:07 PM at the Navajo MT-5 DOT site (MTRED).

High Wind, Eastern Roosevelt

When: November 5, 2:20 PM MST to 7:10 PM MST
Where: Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of 40 mph were common in Eastern Roosevelt County from the mid afternoon to the early night time hours.

High Wind, Sheridan

When: November 5, 3:18 PM MST to November 6, 7:03 AM MST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of 40 mph were common in Sheridan County from mid afternoon to early night time hours on the 5th and again in the early morning hours on the 6th.

High Wind, Dawson

When: November 5, 6:16 PM MST to 8:31 PM MST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Intermittent wind speeds of 40 mph were common in Dawson County during from the evening to nighttime hours. The peak wind gust of 71 mph was recorded at 7:31 PM at the GW0525 Bloomfield mesonet site.

High Wind, Wibaux

When: November 5, 8:35 PM MST
Where: Wibaux forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 46.965, -104.249 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A peak wind gust of 58 mph was recorded at 8:35 PM at the Beach Airport AWOS (K20U).

What these are

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, November 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: 1057538, 1057097, 1057517, 1057529, 1057539, 1057540, 1057537, 1057045, 1057110, 1057095, 1057099, 1057003, 1057002.