Ridging aloft quickly transitioned to a more zonal flow Feb 27 as a fast moving shortwave impinged on the Northern Rockies. 700 mb winds on the order of 50 to 70 kts along with a tightening surface pressure gradient and favorable daytime mixing helped strong gusts develop.
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The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
Ridging aloft quickly transitioned to a more zonal flow Feb 27 as a fast moving shortwave impinged on the Northern Rockies. 700 mb winds on the order of 50 to 70 kts along with a tightening surface pressure gradient and favorable daytime mixing helped strong gusts develop.
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 Feb 27, 10:28 AM MST, 32 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 1028 AM MST Thu Feb 27 2025 Aviation Section Updated. .KEY MESSAGES... - Strong winds are expected today along the Rocky Mountain Front and the adjacent Plains. - Warmer afternoon temperatures today through Sunday will continue to result in a snowmelt, especially from all mountains and at all elevations of Southwest MT. - Dry and mild conditions continue through the weekend, but do expect a few days of cooler temperatures and a chance for snow at all elevations early next week. && .UPDATE... /Issued 955 AM MST Thu Feb 27 2025/ It will be windy today across North-central Montana with the strongest winds along the Rocky Mountain Front and Adjacent plains. It will be warm today across North-central, Central, and Southwestern Montana. I issued a High Wind Warning for the Bears Paw Mountains and Northern Blaine County this afternoon and evening. I considered issuing a High Wind Warning for the lower-elevations of Cascade and Judith Basin Counties but at this time I held off to watch wind gust trends and to see if model guidance increases the wind gusts to make 58mph+ wind gusts more widespread in those areas. Also due to cloud cover I was not confident in winds mixing down in those areas. I increased high temperatures across much of North-central, Central, and Southwestern Montana. The rest of the forecast is on track. -IG && .DISCUSSION... /Issued 955 AM MST Thu Feb 27 2025/ - Meteorological Overview: An upper level ridge is building to our west, resulting in a northwesterly flow aloft. An upper level disturbance is moving southward in this flow, and will create strong winds today along the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent Plains. There is a small potential that the strong winds could affect areas further east over Blaine and Fergus counties. Otherwise, expect above normal temperatures and dry conditions through the weekend. For Monday, the upper level ridge breaks down, as an upper level trof approaches MT. Expect cooler temperatures, along with mostly snow developing over the CWA on Monday and then continuing into Tuesday. Overall, this looks to be a smaller storm, with generally advisory criteria snowfall expected for Monday and Tuesday. Expect a few scattered rain/snow showers to continue into Wed/Thu of next week, but most of the shower activity will be over the mountains, with a slow warming trend expected to begin by the middle of next week. - Forecast Confidence & Scenarios: There is an 80 percent chance of high wind criteria wind gust today along the Rocky Mountain Front and adjacent Plains, thus the high wind warning will continue for these areas. There is a 70 percent chance of strong wind gusts over Blaine and Fergus counties as well. Should these stronger winds start to develop in Blaine/Fergus counties, the high wind warning might need to be expanded. For the snowfall next week, there is a 40 percent chance of 2 inches of snowfall around Great Falls and Lewistown, with less than a 20 percent chance elsewhere at lower elevations. In the mountains, there is a 30 percent chance that snowfall amounts will exceed 6 inches. Brusda && .AVIATION... 27/18Z TAF Period A fast moving shortwave trough and attendant dry cold front will continue to bring gusty winds, significant mountain wave turbulence, and instances of low level wind shear through 28/00Z when the winds slowly decrease from west to east through 28/04Z. The worst conditions and strongest winds are still expected along the Northern Rocky Mountain Front and plains. Sustained wind speeds will generally fall in the 20 to 30 kt range with gusts around 30 to 40 kts; however, sustained winds of 30 to 40 kt with gusts in excess of 50 kt are more likely on the Rocky Mountain Front and over the high plains near KCTB. Otherwise, VFR conditions are expected under passing mid- and upper level cloudiness. - RCG Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation weather and hazard information. && .HYDROLOGY... The snowmelt continues over the CWA. Much of the lower elevation snow has melted out over North Central MT. With mild temperatures the next few days, Southwest MT will begin to see a bit more rapid snowmelt, especially at lower elevations. Thus areas of Southwest MT should be prepared for possible flood statements over the next few days. The flood advisory continues for North Central MT, but reports of new flooding are slowing up, as the snow has melted out in many lower elevation locations. Depending on how today goes, combined with reports from the field, will determine whether the flood advisory ends today or is extended. Brusda && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 62 33 58 30 / 0 0 0 0 CTB 57 29 50 27 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 51 29 50 27 / 0 0 0 0 BZN 50 22 48 21 / 0 0 0 0 WYS 39 3 44 2 / 0 0 0 0 DLN 46 25 48 23 / 0 0 0 0 HVR 61 28 50 24 / 0 0 0 0 LWT 57 29 48 29 / 0 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until 6 PM MST this evening for East Glacier Park Region-Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and Central Pondera- Northern High Plains-Southern High Plains. High Wind Warning until 8 PM MST this evening for Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine-Northern Blaine County. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
506 AM MST Thu Feb 27 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0321 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 SE East Glacier Park 48.36N 113.11W
02/27/2025 M69 MPH Glacier MT Mesonet
Mesonet station DCRM8 Deep Creek RAWS.
&&
BrusdaThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Montana mesonet site Mt Lebanon SE measured a 61 mph gust.
Montana mesonet station Dog Gun Lake E measured sustained winds, averaged over an hour, of 53 mph.
Montana mesonet station Chinook E measured a 60 mph gust.
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, February 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: 1245081, 1245080, 1245078.