Strong winds occurred with a cold front passage on February 29.
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.
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 MSO wrote it up.
Strong winds occurred with a cold front passage on February 29.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 29, 2:50 PM MST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
250 PM MST Thu Feb 29 2024
.DISCUSSION...Very mild temperatures exist across the entire
Northern Rockies (NR) this afternoon. This is thanks to a warm
southerly wind. Temperatures are in the lower to mid 50s in the
Bitterroot valley and Camas Prairie in Idaho with mid and upper
40s elsewhere. Strong pressure gradients are causing high winds
and gusts. Wind warnings and advisories are in effect.
This will all come to an end late this afternoon and more so through
the evening hours as a strong cold front will make its way
through the NR. Winds will diminish behind the front later this
evening. This front will bring a line of strong rain and snow
along the front with snow behind the front as temperatures quickly
lower. This snow will last through the evening and overnight
hours resulting in several inches of snow across the NR, primarily
in the mountains and higher valleys. Winter weather advisories are
in effect through Friday morning.
The large trough will remain over the region through the weekend.
The cold and unstable air mass will result in showers across the
region this weekend.
A bigger story this weekend will be cold temperatures. Cold
Canadian air mass will spill across the divide and lower
temperatures to well below normal readings. Low temperatures this
weekend will reach the single digits to lower teens everywhere,
especially Sunday and Monday.
This trough isn't going anywhere. While it will loosen its grip a
little bit, temperatures will stay slightly below normal by the
middle to end of next week.
&&
.AVIATION...Strong gusty winds will impact all terminals through
03/0600z. A cold front will move through the region between
03/0000z through 03/0600z and bring a mix of rain and snow
changing to all snow by 03/0300z. Winds will diminish slightly
behind the front. Unstable and colder air behind the front will
result in scattered to numerous afternoon snow showers, with gusty
outflows on Friday afternoon.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...High Wind Warning until 11 PM MST this evening for
Butte/Blackfoot Region.
Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 9 AM MST
Friday for Bitterroot/Sapphire Mountains...Butte/Blackfoot
Region...Potomac/Seeley Lake Region...West Glacier Region.
Wind Advisory until 8 PM MST this evening for Flathead/Mission
Valleys.
Wind Advisory until 11 PM MST this evening for
Bitterroot/Sapphire Mountains...Missoula/Bitterroot
Valleys...Potomac/Seeley Lake Region.
ID...Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM MST /4 PM PST/ this afternoon
to 9 AM MST /8 AM PST/ Friday for Eastern Lemhi County...
Northern Clearwater Mountains...Southern Clearwater
Mountains...Western Lemhi County.
High Wind Warning until 7 PM PST this evening for Lower Hells
Canyon/Salmon River Region...Orofino/Grangeville Region.
High Wind Warning until 11 PM MST this evening for Eastern Lemhi
County...Western Lemhi County.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Missoula MT
1158 AM MST Thu Feb 29 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1049 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst Grangeville 45.92N 116.13W
02/29/2024 M43 MPH Idaho ID Mesonet
Mesonet station AU943 Grangeville.
&&
jmPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Missoula MT
1159 AM MST Thu Feb 29 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1100 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 SW Pinnacle 48.32N 113.69W
02/29/2024 M62 MPH Flathead MT Mesonet
Mesonet station TRWMT Tunnel Ridge Wind.
&&
jmPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Missoula MT
230 PM MST Thu Feb 29 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0136 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 SW Salmon 45.15N 113.95W
02/29/2024 M40 MPH Lemhi ID Mesonet
Mesonet station SMYI1 Salmon.
&&
jmPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Missoula MT
302 PM MST Thu Feb 29 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0235 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 N Grangeville 45.95N 116.12W
02/29/2024 M48 MPH Idaho ID AWOS
AWOS station KGIC Grangeville.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Missoula MT
314 PM MST Thu Feb 29 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0251 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 SE North Fork 45.36N 113.89W
02/29/2024 M61 MPH Lemhi ID Mesonet
Mesonet station KRCI1 Kriley Creek Raws.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Three hundred and seventy eight customers lost power. Wind blew a tree over on Highway 35 near Creston and east of Pablo.
Two hundred customers were without power due to strong winds. No other damage was noted.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2024
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: 1157377, 1157375.