Westerly flow aloft brought in an upper-level disturbance. This system primarily brought mountain snow and lower elevation rain, but strong westerly flow brought gusty down sloping winds over the Continental Divide.
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The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
Westerly flow aloft brought in an upper-level disturbance. This system primarily brought mountain snow and lower elevation rain, but strong westerly flow brought gusty down sloping winds over the Continental Divide. Isolated high winds were reported along the Rocky Mountain Front.
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 Mar 21, 8:48 AM MST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 948 AM MDT Fri Mar 21 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Snow passes through Friday and Saturday, with brief, heavier snowfall along a cold front Saturday morning. - Strong winds are expected along the cold front Saturday morning, with another round of gusty winds Monday. - Temperatures warm up next week, with many areas reaching into the 60s. && .UPDATE... Morning update is out. No significant changes to the forecast this morning. Updated the forecast for today with just current trends. Main concern going forward is the potential for strong winds later today and into Saturday, along with mountain snowfall. Overall current statements for wind/snow look on track, with no changes. Brusda && .DISCUSSION... /Issued 539 AM MDT Fri Mar 21 2025/ - Meteorological Overview: Westerly flow aloft bringing embedded waves will bring a few rounds of snow today through the weekend. Snow will fall steadily throughout the day today along the Northern Continental Divide, with a few heavier convective snow showers this afternoon. The better upper level wave along with a low pressure system moving along the MT/Canada border arrives overnight Friday into Saturday. A Pacific cold front will bring heavier bursts of snow with gusty winds early Saturday morning. Moisture wrapping around the low will bring scattered snow showers Saturday afternoon to areas mainly north of I-90. Another upper-level disturbance on Sunday and Monday will bring another round of higher elevation snow and rain/snow at lower elevations. Gusty winds return Monday for the North-Central MT plains. Behind that, an upper-level ridge builds in, bringing drier and warmer weather for the first half of the work week. However, late next week, ensembles hint at a more active pattern moving in. - Forecast Confidence & Scenarios: Snow: Models have been consistent about the evolution of this snow system today and Saturday. High-resolution models show pretty good snow banding along the cold front passage overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Snowfall rates of 1-2" per hour will likely accompany this heavier banding, especially over the higher terrain. Visibility will also likely drop below a mile at times as well. After the cold front, a small amount of instability builds in for the afternoon, producing snow showers for areas mainly north of the I-90 corridor. Snow won't be as heavy this time around, but some briefly intense snow showers are likely with poor visibility. In terms of snow accumulations, Marias Pass can see up to 9", with the Little Belts up to 8". Gusty winds will also cause blowing and drifting snow issues. Snow on Sunday and Monday will remain light overall, with a 40% chance for 2" of snow at higher terrain. Winds: Model guidance shows 50-55kt 700mb winds that will try to mix down between the MT Highway 200 corridor and the I-90 corridor Saturday. The main concern is the cold front passage trying to mix these stronger winds down to the surface Saturday morning/early afternoon. Therefore, a High Wind watch was issued. There is a little uncertainty in the strength of winds, especially in the Bozeman Valley where there is up to a 50% chance for 58 mph winds. But other Central and Southwest valleys have a 40-80% chance for 58 mph winds. Another round of stronger winds move in Monday. Strong winds aloft with a pressure gradient sets up across the region. Vertical profile soundings show a little bit of ridge top stability along the Rocky Mountain Front Monday morning. There's a 50-70% chance for 58 mph winds extending east to Cut Bank, and a 30-50% chance for 75 mph winds closer to the foothills. Gusty winds look to spread east across the North-Central MT plains, with a 30-60% chance for 50 mph winds. -Wilson && .AVIATION... 21/12Z TAF Period Low-VFR/VFR conditions are expected to prevail through much of the 2112/2212 TAF period despite moist, zonal flow over the Northern Rockies. Lowest CIGS through 15-17z morning will occur at the KEKS and KBZN terminals as snow showers remain fixed to the surrounding mountains, with some improvements during the afternoon hours here before decreasing again this evening and through Saturday morning as a Pacific cold front approaches the Northern Rockies. This approaching cold front will also bring chances for showers to the KCTB, KHVR, and KHLN terminals beyond 03z Saturday. Biggest concern through 18z this afternoon continues to be the threat for low level wind shear over the plains terminals of Central and North Central Montana, with the threat decreasing during the afternoon as the boundary layer becomes better mixed leading to strong and gusty surface winds developing. The threat for low level wind shear will shift south during the overnight hours to the the KHLN and KBZN terminals as the valleys become decoupled. Mountain wave turbulence will also be a concern through much of the next 24 hours, with mountain obscuration continuing. - Moldan Refer to weather.gov/zlc for more detailed regional aviation weather and hazard information. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 54 34 45 29 / 0 30 70 10 CTB 49 30 42 26 / 10 50 60 10 HLN 54 31 43 27 / 10 60 50 0 BZN 48 27 39 19 / 0 50 70 0 WYS 36 24 35 9 / 20 80 90 10 DLN 46 26 39 22 / 0 50 40 0 HVR 56 31 48 25 / 10 40 70 20 LWT 49 32 40 26 / 0 20 70 20 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until midnight MDT Saturday night for East Glacier Park Region-Southern Rocky Mountain Front. Winter Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to midnight MDT Saturday night for Little Belt and Highwood Mountains. High Wind Watch from late tonight through Saturday afternoon for Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains-Canyon Ferry Area-Elkhorn and Boulder Mountains-Fergus County below 4500ft-Gallatin Valley- Helena Valley-Judith Basin County and Judith Gap-Meagher County Valleys-Missouri Headwaters-Snowy and Judith Mountains-Upper Blackfoot and MacDonald Pass. Winter Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to noon MDT Saturday for Beaverhead and Western Madison below 6000ft- Gallatin and Madison County Mountains and Centennial Mountains- Madison River Valley-Northwest Beaverhead County-Ruby Mountains and Southern Beaverhead Mountains. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station MTM73 Ledger N Mda reported a 63 mph wind gust. ASOS station KCTB Cut Bank Airport also reported a high wind gust and high sustained winds.
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, March 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: 1242616.