A strong weather disturbance moved east across the region resulting in a strengthening wind field. Strong surface winds occurred for much of the late night hours of January 25th into the first half of January 26th.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 TFX wrote it up.
A strong weather disturbance moved east across the region resulting in a strengthening wind field. Strong surface winds occurred for much of the late night hours of January 25th into the first half of January 26th. The strongest winds generally occurred along the Rocky Mountain Front Range as well as areas roughly along and east of a line from Havre to Lewistown.
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 25, 4:50 PM MST, 9 hours earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
MT Department of Transportation mesonet site (MTBRN) at Two Medicine Bridge measured a peak non-thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph.
A privately owned weather station from Ambient Weather measured a non-thunderstorm wind gust of 59 mph in Cut Bank.
A MT Department of Transportation mesonet site (MTBWG), located in Browning, measured sustained winds of 40 mph per hour or great for at least an hour.
RAWS station JPKM8, located about 7 miles ESE of Hilger, measured a peak non-thunderstorm wind gust of 61 mph.
A privately owned weather station from Ambient Weather, located about 19 miles WNW of Santa Rita, measured a non-thunderstorm wind gust of 65 mph.
Deep Creek RAWS (DCRM8), located about 8 miles southeast of East Glacier National Park measured a peak non-thunderstorm wind gust of 66 mph.
Portable mesonet station TR276, located about 11 miles WNW of Augusta, measured a peak non-thunderstorm wind gust of 64 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2023
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: 1074332, 1074334, 1074331, 1074338, 1074335, 1074333, 1074337.