A strong chinook wind pattern affected portions of Phillips county, including blowing dust reaching as far east as Glasgow in Valley County.
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The episode as NWS GGW wrote it up.
A strong chinook wind pattern affected portions of Phillips county, including blowing dust reaching as far east as Glasgow in Valley 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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 10:49 PM MST, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Glasgow MT 1049 PM MST Wed Feb 25 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - A High Wind Warning for strong winds is in effect for in Phillips County through tonight. - The next chance for widespread accumulating snow arrives Friday afternoon and night. - A glancing blow of Arctic air this weekend will transition back to warmer than normal temperatures next week. && .DISCUSSION... WEATHER PATTERN OVERVIEW: Fast northwest flow will continue over the region with a weak ridge over California and shallow trough through the Great Lakes. A shortwave sliding through the flow is expected to spin up an Alberta low today, leading to strong downslope winds spreading east. Strongest winds for northeast Montana will be in Phillips county where a High Wind Warning remains in effect through Friday morning. As the shortwave moves east, the Alberta low will drop a cold front into Montana on Friday, followed by Canadian high pressure. This clipper will bring the chance of snow to the region, with the highest probabilities over the upslope regions toward central Montana. Warmer temperatures return next week as the cold air is pushed east with the approach to the west coast by an East Pacific low pressure. FORECAST CONFIDENCE & DEVIATIONS: Blended in 90th percentile for winds through Friday morning in support of the high wind event and to add more detail for valley inversions. Confidence is more moderate for high winds to be realized in northern and eastern portions of Phillips county. There is moderate to high confidence on placement of heaviest snow with the incoming clipper system. Confidence is high for warmer than normal temperatures next week. && .AVIATION... VFR with dry weather through the TAF cycle with chinook winds dominating. LLWS expected through 14z when the stronger winds aloft will mix down. && .GGW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until 8 AM MST Friday for Central and Southeast Phillips-Northern Phillips-Southwest Phillips. && weather.gov/glasgow
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind gusts in excess of 58 mph were common in southwest Phillips County. The Zortman BLM RAWS site (ALDM8) measured a maximum wind gust of 62 mph.
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, February 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: 1308273.