Montana, 2022

Drought in Montana, September 20 to 30, 2022

September 20 to 30, 2022 · NWS GGW · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A dry August, record heat at the beginning of September and little to no precipitation has caused the drought to continue expanding in northeast Montana.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
2

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.

A dry August, record heat at the beginning of September and little to no precipitation has caused the drought to continue expanding in northeast Montana.

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 Sep 19, 2:07 PM MST, 9 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 19, 2:07 PM MST, 9 hours 53 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
307 PM MDT Mon Sep 19 2022

.DISCUSSION...
A few showers with isolated thunder are beginning to enter the
southwest zones this afternoon. This activity is expected to
continue progressing eastward into this evening, but most places
will see light accumulations.

Winds will switch to the north with the cold front tonight and
expect cooler temperatures on Tuesday. Parts of the area may
experience near freezing temperatures on Wednesday morning, have
messaged potential impacts associated with the expected colder
weather.

An upper level low tracking in from the Pacific will lift
northeast over the western U.S. and influence the weather for
portions of NE Montana by Thursday. Increasing chances of rain
will spread from west to east during the day, and exit gradually
Thursday night into Friday morning. Wetting rains are possible
with most ensembles pointing to between a quarter to a half of an
inch across the area.

Another ridge is expected to build toward the weekend with a warm
up and dry weather conditions returning.

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR conditions are expected to continue though look for isolated
showers to spill in from the west this evening along with a
possible thunderstorm with a weak cold front.

&&

.GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

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

2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Dawson

When
September 20, 12:00 AM MST to September 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)

On the third week of September, the northwestern two thirds of Dawson County worsened to (D2-Severe) drought conditions while the southeastern third was in (D1-Moderate) drought. By the last week of September the central third of Dawson County worsened to (D3-Extreme) while the northern portion and southeastern third of Dawson County remained in (D2-Severe) drought.

Drought, Prairie

When
September 20, 12:00 AM MST to September 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)

On the third week of September, drought in the northeast corner of Prairie County was in (D2-Severe) while the remainder of Prairie County was in (D1-Moderate) drought. By the last week of September the northeast corner of Prairie County had worsened to (D3-Extreme) drought, the rest of the northeastern two thirds outside the northeast corner had worsened to (D2-Severe) drought while the southwestern third of Prairie County remained in (D1-Moderate) drought.

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

More

Every storm in Montana in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, September 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: 1050510, 1050819.