A strong cold front interacted with an unstable airmass to generate widespread showers and thunderstorms with multiple locations receiving severe wind gusts.
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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 GGW wrote it up.
A strong cold front interacted with an unstable airmass to generate widespread showers and thunderstorms with multiple locations receiving severe wind gusts.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 11, 12:11 PM MST, 4 hours 59 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Glasgow MT 111 PM MDT Sat Apr 11 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms with a marginal risk for severe outflow winds tonight. - Seasonable temperatures and widespread rain showers are expected Sunday night and Monday. - Much below normal temperatures with significant mixed precipitation is becoming more likely for Thursday and Friday. && .DISCUSSION... WEATHER PATTERN OVERVIEW: Warmth under an upper ridge pushing to the east has produced steep lapse rates and mixing ahead of increasing instability and shear, with a shortwave trough and cold frontal passage this evening. While not aided by elevated synoptic winds like earlier this week, the setup is prime for at least a few 50-60 mph gusts from outflow of any showers and thunderstorms that develop, especially over Phillips and Petroleum counties this evening. Beginning Sunday evening, an upper low to the west transitions into an open trough and the SW flow aloft brings more moisture into Montana, producing widespread showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms Sunday night and Monday. Models and ensembles still differ on how quickly to move the upper trough through the forecast area. At this point, the NBM lingers chances for showers through Tuesday in some areas. The next system will bring chances for showers beginning either Wednesday afternoon or evening with colder temperatures starting on Thursday. This will introduce chances for accumulating snow, particularly for elevated areas Thursday night. Chances for at least 2" of snow at this time are 20-40%. FORECAST CONFIDENCE & DEVIATIONS: The only deviations made were slight adjustments to winds mixing in the best agreement from hi-res model data and an increase in thunder probability for this evening to reflect a widespread slight chance. There is moderate or average confidence in temperatures through the week. While there is moderate to high confidence in two systems producing wetting precipitation, confidence is generally low for widespread accumulating snow to occur later in the week. -JEZ && .AVIATION... LAST UPDATE: 1830Z, Saturday, April 11 FLIGHT CAT RANGE: Mostly VFR to MVFR DISCUSSION: High and mid level clouds are increasing this afternoon. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will move from SW to NE this evening. KGGW and points west are the most favorable areas for a thunderstorm with strong downburst wind gusts between 00-03Z, while other sites may need an amendment for gustier winds in the vicinity of showers. LLWS: Pockets of wind shear between 04-08Z tonight with west wind 40 to 50 knots within 2000 feet AGL. && .GGW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && weather.gov/glasgow
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Glasgow MT
548 PM MDT Sat Apr 11 2026
MTZ016-060-120045-
Southwest Phillips MT-Central and Southeast Phillips MT-
548 PM MDT Sat Apr 11 2026
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southwestern
Phillips County through 645 PM MDT
...
At 548 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 8
miles south of Hays, or 8 miles west of Zortman, moving northeast at
30 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Zortman, Phillips, and Landusky.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 4792 10872 4792 10863 4799 10861 4798 10844
4822 10843 4822 10841 4832 10841 4829 10800
4762 10798 4764 10871
TIME...MOT...LOC 2348Z 238DEG 28KT 4787 10870
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
ForresterThe Billings radar (KBLX), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:11 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Winnett MT-200 DOT site (MTWIN) measured a 64 mph wind gust.
The Malta South US-191 DOT site (MTMAL) measured a 60 mph wind gust.
The Jordan Airport AWOS site (KJDN) measured a 62 mph wind gust.
The Glasgow Airport ASOS site (KGGW) measured a 60 mph wind gust.
A trained spotter recorded a 62 mph wind gust on their personal home weather station.
The Fort Peck Dam handar site (GGWFP) measured a 59 mph wind gust.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, April 2026
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: 1318181, 1318182, 1318183, 1318184, 1318185, 1318186.