A robust upper level trough broke down an upper level ridge September 29. Robust southerly winds aloft ahead of the front resulted in numerous gusts around 40-50 mph, with one in excess of 58 mph in Dillon.
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 robust upper level trough broke down an upper level ridge September 29. Robust southerly winds aloft ahead of the front resulted in numerous gusts around 40-50 mph, with one in excess of 58 mph in Dillon. Behind an associated cold front across North-central Montana strong winds developed along the Rocky Mountain Front, adjacent plains, and in lee of terrain across eastern portions of North-central Montana during the 29th into the early morning hours of the 30th.
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 Sep 29, 12:42 PM MST, 18 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 142 PM MDT Sun Sep 29 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A Pacific cold front will continue to move from west to east through Central MT this evening. Cooler air will move in behind the cold front, with gusty winds diminishing by Monday morning. Afternoon highs on Monday will be about 25 degrees cooler than today. Temperatures were back up a bit for a few days starting on Tuesday. Overall, little or no precipitation is expected through the entire work week. && .DISCUSSION... Tonight through Monday...A Pacific cold front continues to move from west to east across the CWA this afternoon. The front is near the I-15 corridor from Shelby to Great Falls as of 2 PM. Winds are increasing behind the front, with a gust to 55 mph at Cut Bank and 57 mph near East Glacier Park recently. Overall, the peak of the strong winds will be from about 4 PM to 10 PM over the Rocky Mountain Front, from about 8 PM to 1 AM across Fergus and southern Blaine counties, while a final push of stronger winds will affect Hill and northern Blaine counties from about 2 AM to 6 AM Monday. Thus the current high wind highlights will remain, with no changes. A few light rain/snow showers will fall this afternoon in Glacier Park, otherwise the chance for rain showers along/north of Highway 2 continues to slowly decrease. Thus pops are generally less than 20 percent in this area overnight tonight. On Monday, expect afternoon temperatures to generally be below normal, with afternoon highs about 25 degrees cooler than today for many areas. Tuesday through Sunday...Overall expect quick moving upper level disturbances to move from west to east across the CWA later this week and into the weekend. However, little to no precipitation will accompany these disturbances. Any areas that do receive rain/snow will likely receive less than 0.05 inches of liquid. Snow levels will lower to around 5000 feet tonight, but then rise back up to around 10,000 feet by Tuesday afternoon. Do expect overnight temperatures to be near/below freezing on most days, with afternoon temperatures mostly in the 60s and 70s later this week. Another period of windy conditions is possible Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night, but overall wind speeds should remain below warning criteria (less than 20 percent chance of high wind criteria), thus no highlights are planned for at this time. Brusda && .AVIATION... 29/18Z TAF Period VFR conditions will prevail during this TAF period with mostly scattered to few high-level clouds. The primary aviation concern during this TAF period is strong winds. Winds will gust between 40 and 50 kts at the KCTB, KGTF, and KHVR terminals and between 30 and 40 kts at the other terminals from now through 30/12Z. By 30/12Z winds will be light and variable at all terminals excluding the KHVR and KLWT terminals. At the KHVR and KLWT terminals winds be around 12 kts from 30/12Z through the end of this TAF period. During this TAF period there will be mountain wave turbulence. There will be brief isolated instances of low-level wind shear at the KCTB, KLWT, KHVR, and KGTF terminals prior to 30/12Z. Between 30/06 and 30/12Z there will be haze from wildfires around the KEKS, KBZN, and KWYS terminals. This will not reduce visibility below VFR levels. By the end of this TAF period ceilings at the KHVR terminal will approach MVFR levels. -IG Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation weather and hazard information. && .FIRE WEATHER... Low humidity and gusty winds will continue through this evening, as a Pacific cold front moves from west to east across the fire districts. Wind speeds will diminish by Monday morning. Another period of windy conditions is expected Tuesday afternoon and night, but little to no precipitation is expected over the next week. Brusda && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 36 59 35 72 / 10 0 0 0 CTB 33 57 35 66 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 37 60 36 73 / 0 0 0 0 BZN 32 57 30 74 / 0 0 0 0 WYS 24 55 22 64 / 0 0 0 0 DLN 31 57 30 74 / 0 0 0 0 HVR 38 59 34 72 / 10 0 0 0 LWT 35 54 33 73 / 10 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until midnight MDT tonight for East Glacier Park Region-Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and Central Pondera- Eastern Toole and Liberty-Northern High Plains-Southern High Plains-Southern Rocky Mountain Front. High Wind Warning until 6 AM MDT Monday for Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine-Fergus County below 4500ft-Hill County- Judith Basin County and Judith Gap-Northern Blaine County-Snowy and Judith Mountains. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station MTBRN Two Medicine Bridge measured sustained winds, averaged over an hour, of 40 mph.
ASOS station KCTB Cut Bank Airport measured a 61 mph gust. Additionally, mesonet station MTM05 ARC-WTri Conrad measured a 58 mph gust.
ASOS station KDLN Dillon Airport measured a 64 mph gust.
An Ambient Weather Station near Chester measured a 59 mph gust.
AWOS station K1BM Bravo measured a 59 mph gust east of Geyser.
Multiple sensors measured sustained winds and gusts of high wind criteria, including KMVH N Bar Ranch AWOS which measured multiple gusts in excess of 58 mph including a peak gust of 66 mph. Additionally, AWOS stations K1OM Oscar (40 mph sustained, averaged over and hour and a 58 mph gust), and K1NM (59 mph gust) measured criteria winds/gusts.
Mesonet station DELMT Dellwo (MCSCN) measured a 58 mph gust.
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, September 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: 1210884, 1210886, 1210882, 1210888, 1210887, 1210883, 1210890.