A Pacific cold front passed through the region in the afternoon/evening. Dry air in the low levels of the atmosphere posed a risk of severe outflow winds with thunderstorms.
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The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
A Pacific cold front passed through the region in the afternoon/evening. Dry air in the low levels of the atmosphere posed a risk of severe outflow winds with thunderstorms. This mainly impacted the Helena Valley and Fergus County.
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 Jul 9, 4:42 PM MST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 542 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025 Aviation Section Updated. .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot, dry, and breezy conditions through this evening. - Winds, with gusts of between 40 to 50 mph, will be strongest along the Rock Mountain Front through this evening. - Showers and thunderstorms through this evening will produce gusty and erratic winds. - Temperatures cool into the day on Thursday, with a better chance for rainfall. && .DISCUSSION... /Issued 151 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025/ Upper level ridge over the Northern Rockies will be broken down as a longwave trough, currently moving over the western seaboard of the CONUS/Canada, slides east through the day on Thursday. At the surface a Pacific front, which was moving over the Pacific Northwest this morning, will move across Southwest through North Central Montana during the evening hours tonight. Strong warm air advection ahead of the advancing shortwave and attendant Pacific front will once again push high temperatures across Southwest through North Central Montana some 10 to 15 degrees above normal, with highs over the plains (below 3500 feet in elevation) of Central and North Central Montana peaking in excess of 95 degrees today. Isolated showers and thunderstorms through the morning and early afternoon hours, which will be predominately on the dry side, will become more widely scattered through the late afternoon and evening hours as the aforementioned Pacific front approaches. Given high cloud bases and very dry air in the low to mid-levels (i.e. inverted-V sounding) any shower and thunderstorm through this evening will be capable of producing strong and erratic winds on top of the already increasing westerly surface winds. These breezy and gusty west surface winds ahead of the Pacific front will be especially strong along the Rocky Mountain Front and immediate eastern plains out to the I-15 corridor in Central and North Central Montana, with frequent gusts of between 40-50 mph occurring here. In addition to these winds, a few of the showers and thunderstorms will be on the strong to severe side, with gusts in excess of 50-60 mph possible, mainly along and east of a Great Falls to Butte line. By Thursday morning a potent shortwave rotating through the overall longwave trough axis will begin to dive southeast from British Columbia and over the Northern Rockies. This shortwave and a re- enforcing cold front will help to bring cooler conditions to all of the Northern Rockies on Thursday, along with scattered to numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms. Snow levels across Glacier National Park will fall to as low as 8500feet through Thursday evening, which could lead to a dusting of snow over the highest peaks across the park. Surface winds in wake of the re-enforcing cold front will shift to the northwest and north, with another period of strong and gusty winds expected through the day on Thursday, especially in the north-south orientated valleys of Southwest and Central Montana. Quasi-zonal to northwest flow through the remainder of the work week, weekend, and early next week will lead to fluctuating temperatures and periods of dry and wet conditons. - Moldan/Ludwig && .AVIATION... 10/10Z TAF Period Scattered high-based showers and thunderstorms tracking ENE across central and southwest MT this evening will bring gusty and erratic winds to some central/southwest MT terminals with a 5-15% probability for gusts in excess of 50kts for areas east of a Helena to Havre line. Breezy west/southwest winds continue through the evening across the North-Central MT plains with showers/T-storms diminishing overnight. On Thursday, breezy west to northwest winds develop at most terminals by mid-day with a wind shift to the north occurring from north to south across the area Thursday afternoon, followed by an increase in mid-level clouds and perhaps some showers at KCTB and KHVR. Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation weather and hazard information. && .FIRE WEATHER... Upper level ridging over the Northern Rockies will undergo a full breakdown over the next 12-24 hours, with cooler conditions and better chances for rainfall returning to Southwest through North Central Montana through the day on Thursday. Prior to these improving fire weather conditions a hot, dry, and breezy day can be expected across all fire weather zones today. High temperatures will once again soar some 10 to 15 degrees above normal, with minimum relative humidity values generally falling to between 10% to 15%. Westerly surface winds will be on the increase throughout the day, most notably along the Rocky Mountain Front and immediate eastern plains, ahead of an advancing Pacific front. This Pacific front will provide the opportunity for generally dry, showers and thunderstorms which would be capable of producing gusty and erratic winds. By Thursday a re-enforcing cold front will begin to dive south from Canada, with a shift to more northerly winds that will remain breezy and gusty. With Hot, Dry, and Windy Indices (HDWI) and ERC values remaining below the 95th Percentile through the ridge breakdown across all Fire Weather Zones we have held-off on any Fire Weather Highlights; however, this ridge breakdown will certainly aide in the further curing of fuels across both the forests and grasslands. Elevated fire weather conditions will exist through this evening. - Moldan && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 96 59 83 47 / 20 20 20 20 CTB 88 56 72 42 / 20 20 50 20 HLN 94 59 84 50 / 20 30 10 10 BZN 95 51 87 49 / 20 30 10 30 WYS 85 41 78 41 / 20 20 10 20 DLN 90 49 83 47 / 20 30 0 10 HVR 98 57 82 47 / 10 20 30 10 LWT 92 55 82 43 / 20 30 10 30 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Heat Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for Cascade County below 5000ft-Hill County-Northern Blaine County-Western and Central Chouteau County. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Great Falls MT 149 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025 MTZ304>306-309>330-092230- Eastern Toole and Liberty-Hill County-Northern Blaine County- Eastern Pondera and Eastern Teton- Western and Central Chouteau County- Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine- Cascade County below 5000ft-Judith Basin County and Judith Gap- Fergus County below 4500ft-Upper Blackfoot and MacDonald Pass- Gates of the Mountains-Little Belt and Highwood Mountains- Snowy and Judith Mountains-Helena Valley- Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains-Meagher County Valleys- Elkhorn and Boulder Mountains-Canyon Ferry Area- Missouri Headwaters-Madison River Valley-Gallatin Valley- Northwest Beaverhead County- Beaverhead and Western Madison below 6000ft- Ruby Mountains and Southern Beaverhead Mountains- Gallatin and Madison County Mountains and Centennial Mountains- Including the cities of Devon, Shelby, Chester, Galata, Joplin, Lothair, Whitlash, Havre, Chinook, Zurich, Harlem, Hogeland, Fort Belknap, Brady, Conrad, Ledger, Floweree, Carter, Fort Benton, Rocky Boy, Great Falls, Raynesford, Geyser, Stanford, Windham, Benchland, Hobson, Moccasin, Hilger, Lewistown, Marysville, Lincoln, Flesher Pass, MacDonald Pass, Canyon Creek, Wolf Creek, Craig, Monarch, Neihart, Kings Hill Pass, Helena, Trident, Maudlow, Battle Ridge Pass, Bozeman Pass, Deep Creek Pass, Martinsdale, Checkerboard, Ringling, White Sulphur Springs, Montana City, Clancy, Boulder, Corbin, Wickes, Elk Park Pass, Homestake Pass, Toston, Townsend, Winston, Harrison, Three Forks, Willow Creek, Pony, Whitehall, Cameron, Ennis, Jeffers, McAllister, Norris, Bozeman, Gallatin Gateway, Dewey, Wisdom, Wise River, Big Hole Pass, Chief Joseph Pass, Bannack, Dillon, Glen, Waterloo, Monida Pass, Big Sky, West Yellowstone, Targhee Pass, and Raynolds Pass 149 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025 ...Gusty Erratic Winds With Showers And Thunderstorms Today... Isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue to develop this afternoon and evening mainly across Southwest MT and North Central MT east of the I 15 corridor. Precipitation amounts will generally remain low with showers and storms. The main hazard will be gusty, erratic winds up to 50 to 55 mph, with isolated 58 mph or greater. Make sure to have a way to receive weather warnings, and those recreating outdoors have a plan for when lightning strikes.
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
411 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0230 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Monida 44.56N 112.31W
07/09/2025 M50 MPH Beaverhead MT Mesonet
Mesonet station MTMQM Monida Pass (MT DOT).
&&
BHPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
548 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0515 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 ESE Twin Bridges 45.53N 112.30W
07/09/2025 M53 MPH Madison MT AWOS
AWOS station KRVF 1 ESE Twin Bridges.
&&
BHPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
604 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0555 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 NW Windham 47.10N 110.17W
07/09/2025 M55 MPH Judith Basin MT AWOS
AWOS station K1CM Charlie.
&&
BHPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Great Falls MT
710 PM MDT Wed Jul 9 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0700 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 10 SE Boulder 46.13N 111.98W
07/09/2025 M50 MPH Jefferson MT Mesonet
Mesonet station MTBLS Boulder South Mt-69 Mp
27.7.
&&
BHThe Great Falls radar (KTFX), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:15 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station MTSPK Spokane Creek Us-287 Mp 55.7 measured a 58 mph wind gust.
A 64 mph thunderstorm wind gust measured at AWOS station K1NM 5 NE Forestgrove.
A 60 mph wind gust measured at the Forestgrove N MT Mesonet site on Wednesday evening.
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, July 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: 1266544, 1266548, 1266550.