The breakdown of an upper-level ridge brought increased wind speeds aloft. These winds mixed to the surface along the Rocky Mountain Front on the morning of the 16th, spreading out to mainly the North-Central plains by the afternoon.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 TFX wrote it up.
The breakdown of an upper-level ridge brought increased wind speeds aloft. These winds mixed to the surface along the Rocky Mountain Front on the morning of the 16th, spreading out to mainly the North-Central plains by the afternoon. The peak winds occurred on the morning of the 17th.
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 16, 3:12 AM MST, 48 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Montana Mesonet Wetzel meadured a 78 mph wind gust. A few other weather stations: Mesonet station MTBRN Two Medicine Bridge, Mesonet station MTBWG Browning, and Dog Gun Lake MT Mesonet also reported high wind gusts.
Mesonet station SRYM8 Saint Mary RAWS measured a 61 mph wind gust.
Mesonet station DELMT Dellwo (MCSCN) measured a 74 mph wind gust. Mesonet station SALMT Salmond Ranch and Mesonet station MTCTS Choteau South also measured a high wind gust.
ASOS station KCTB Cut Bank Airport measured a 67 mph wind gust. Mesonet station MTSUN Sunburst, Mesonet station MTSWT Sweetgrass, and Mesonet station GW1987 Ethridge Three SE also measured a high wind gust.
Mesonet station MTM76 Cascade E Mda measured a 66 mph wind gust. ASOS station KGTF Great Falls Airport also measured a high wind gust and an averaged sustain wind of 42 mph between 9:00pm to 10:00pm MST on the 17th.
Mesonet station TT838 Battle Ridge RAWS measured a 66 mph wind gust.
Mesonet station GW0718 Joplin 25nnw measured a 70 mph wind gust.
Mesonet station MTM02 10.2 S Loma measured a 65 mph wind gust. Montana mesonet Fort Benton E, Mesonet station DVI04529 Fort Benton, and Mesonet station MTLOM Loma also measured a high wind gust.
Fox Crossing SW (Montana Mesonet) measured a 58mph wind gust.
Mesonet station MTGYS Geyser measured a 66 mph wind gust. AWOS station K1CM Charlie also measured high wind gusts.
Mesonet station FBLM8 Fort Belknap RAWS measured a 68 mph wind gust. Montana mesonet Cleveland N also measured a high wind gust.
Mesonet station MTBCH Beacon Hill measured a 69 mph wind gust. A few weather stations also measured high wind gusts.
Montana mesonet SVYM8 Savoy SW measured a 60 mph wind gust. Mesonet station MTM48 Chinook E also measured a high wind gust.
Mesonet station MTFPS Flesher Pass measured a 69 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, March 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: 1318436, 1318408, 1318562, 1318548, 1318567, 1318578, 1318550, 1318557, 1318551, 1318568, 1318558, 1318575, 1318553, 1318576.