Marginal, yet sufficient mid level flow was translated tot he surface via mountain wave activity and assisted by a respectable pressure gradient to result in brief strong winds near the Rocky Mountain Front during the evening December 28.
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 TFX wrote it up.
Marginal, yet sufficient mid level flow was translated tot he surface via mountain wave activity and assisted by a respectable pressure gradient to result in brief strong winds near the Rocky Mountain Front during the evening December 28.
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 Dec 28, 4:36 PM MST, 44 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 436 PM MST Sun Dec 28 2025 Aviation Section Updated. .KEY MESSAGES... - Cold air erodes over the next few days. - Warm and generally benign weather expected through most of this week. - Mountain snowfall possible late this week. && .DISCUSSION... /Issued 216 PM MST Sun Dec 28 2025/ After arctic air mass slid into the area yesterday, warmer air has begun to work back into the area from the southwest. While some of the valleys of Southwestern Montana have been a bit slow to warm up thanks to strong inversions that set up overnight. While these valleys and areas north of the Milk River on the Plains will not get quite as warm as other parts of the area will today, increasing mid level flow near and above the higher terrain of the area will help force the remainder of the cold air out of both the valleys of Southwestern Montana and areas near and north of the Milk River Valley on Monday. Once this cold air is eradicated from the area, the remainder of the week will be generally unremarkable from a weather standpoint, save for above average temperatures and some breezy winds along the Rocky Mountain Front Monday and Tuesday. Otherwise, upper level ridging will more or less dominate the weather pattern through the end of the week, keeping us warm and dry through at least Friday. Looking towards the weekend, there are some hints of an upper level trough trying to sneak into the area, which could bring some increased snow at least to the mountains along the Divide. Models do seem to be more on board with some troughing developing over the Northwestern US, which would bring cooler temperatures and possibly some moisture back into the area. Ludwig && .AVIATION... 29/00Z TAF Period VFR conditions prevail during the TAF period. Relatively benign weather besides breezy winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and KGTF. -Wilson && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 20 40 26 46 / 0 0 0 0 CTB 16 34 23 43 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 11 33 22 41 / 0 0 0 0 BZN 7 29 18 40 / 0 0 0 0 WYS -6 21 4 32 / 0 0 0 0 DLN 6 31 20 40 / 0 0 0 0 HVR -2 25 17 36 / 0 0 0 0 LWT 14 40 25 48 / 0 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
458 PM MST Sun Dec 28 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0421 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 SE East Glacier Park 48.36N 113.11W
12/28/2025 M66 MPH Glacier MT Mesonet
Mesonet station DCRM8 Deep Creek RAWS.
&&
BrusdaPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
459 PM MST Sun Dec 28 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0445 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 SE Browning 48.54N 112.98W
12/28/2025 M59 MPH Glacier MT Mesonet
Mesonet station MTBWG Browning (MT DOT).
&&
BrusdaThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Montana mesonet station Mission Lake S measured an hour of sustained winds averaging 42 mph and observed a peak gust of 62 mph.
Mesonet station MTBWG Browning (MT DOT) measured sustained winds, averaged over an hour, of 50 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 2025
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: 1306699, 1306698.