Strong winds occurred along the foothills of south-central MT and stretch up to (but not including) Yellowstone County. Gusts up to 68 mph were produced.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 BYZ wrote it up.
Strong winds occurred along the foothills of south-central MT and stretch up to (but not including) Yellowstone County. Gusts up to 68 mph were produced.
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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 15, 11:55 PM MST, 5 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Billings MT
1255 AM MDT Mon Mar 16 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Windy conditions return tonight into Tuesday with the foothills
west of Billings at a 60-70% chance for gusts of at least 60
mph.
- Uncertainty exists on potentially strong winds across south
central MT. Currently there's a 30-60% chance for gusts up to
40 mph for Tuesday.
- Mountain snow will persist through Tuesday night. 6-12 inches is
expected in the Beartooth/Absaroka and Crazy mountains.
- Breezy conditions across the foothills west of Billings will
continue through the week.
- Temperatures will quickly warm into the 60s and 70s for mid to
late week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Today through Sunday...
Current mid levels analysis shows the area under northwest flow
with high pressure moving into the western US. Pacific moisture
will stream in over the ridge with a weak disturbance bringing
some snow to the mountains and low chances (20-40%) for a light
rain/snow mix across portions of the plains. The Beartooth/Absarokas
and Crazy mountains are expected to get about 6-12 inches through
Tuesday night. The Bighorns will only get a few inches as this
pattern will mainly favor west facing slopes for area mountains.
There is about a 20-30% chance for mixed precipitation (mainly for
Carter and Fallon counties) late Monday evening and overnight.
Ensembles generally keep only a few hundredths of accumulation, so
there is little concern in terms of impacts. Tonight (Monday
night) into Tuesday, 700 mb winds and a pressure gradient
favorable for gap winds will form across the foothills west of
Billings. 700 mb winds will peak at 65-75 kts during the overnight
hours with a 15-18 mb pressure gradient from IDA to LWT
(favorable for gap winds at Livingston). Even with snowpack for
areas north of Big Timber up through Judith Gap, the strength of
these 700 winds should be able to duct under the inversion. With
this there is about a 60-80% chance for gusts to 60 mph, with
about a 40% chance for gusts to 70 mph late this evening through
the evening Tuesday. As a result, High Wind Warnings will begin
this evening and go through Tuesday evening. There is slightly
less confidence areas to the east (Golden Valley and Northern
Stillwater counties) given snowpack and resulting surface
temperatures as well as if these areas will be favorable during
the overnight hours when low to mid level winds will be strongest.
Currently, there is a 40% chance for gusts to at least 60 mph for
these locations. Given, the following days are warmer and dryer
and 700 mb winds stay modest at 45-55 kts, breezy conditions will
persist with about a 40% chance for gusts to 50 mph Wednesday and
Thursday for areas across the western foothills. Ensembles look
to flatten mid level heights and bring some energy overhead by the
end of the week which would relieve warmer conditions and
increase precipitation chances.
Temperatures will be slightly tricky over the next couple days
given snowpack or lack thereof across the region. Confidence in
high in a warming trend through the week. Highs today are expected
to be in the 30s to low 50s, 50s and 60s Tuesday, 60s to 70s
Wednesday through Saturday, with 50s for Sunday. TS
.AVIATION...
Overnight patchy fog is possible for areas from Billings (KBIL)
east into the Dakotas. Localized visibility below a mile and
indefinite ceilings down to 200 feet are possible with any fog.
More Pacific moisture will flow over the area as the front side of
a strong ridge moves over the area. This warm advection pattern
will bring mainly VFR ceilings to the forecast area through Monday
night, with periods of light snow showers this morning to the western
foothills and rain showers late in the day today through tonight
for the rest of the lower elevation locations. Given the light
nature of the shower activity and weak forcing utilized vcsh
liberally with this TAF package. Western mountains will see
periods of obscuration for the next 48 hours as the Pacific
moisture moves through producing periods of moderate snowfall for
the higher terrain. Winds will begin to increase this afternoon
over the western foothills around KLVM, with gusts of 40kts or
more expected by late Monday evening. Current snowpack should
shield most other areas from gusty winds through Monday night,
though LLWS is expected, as ~2kft winds increase to 35 to 50kts
out of the west/northwest. Chambers
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...
Tdy Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
-------------------------------------------------------
BIL 045 038/063 042/067 042/072 046/076 045/066 037/057
1/E 20/N 00/B 00/B 00/B 12/W 21/B
LVM 052 044/062 048/069 047/072 051/074 048/067 036/054
3/W 51/N 10/N 00/N 00/N 12/W 11/B
HDN 045 034/063 038/070 038/075 042/078 042/069 035/057
1/E 30/N 01/B 00/B 01/B 12/W 21/B
MLS 036 029/054 038/064 040/071 045/073 042/062 033/053
1/B 30/N 00/B 00/U 00/B 12/W 11/B
4BQ 039 032/060 039/069 042/073 045/076 043/070 035/054
1/B 30/N 00/B 00/U 00/U 11/B 11/B
BHK 032 023/055 036/064 039/070 043/070 039/061 029/050
0/B 30/N 00/N 00/U 00/B 12/W 11/B
SHR 045 033/066 038/072 039/075 043/078 042/071 032/055
2/W 11/N 00/B 00/U 00/U 12/W 21/B
&&
.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...High Wind Watch in effect from this afternoon through Tuesday
evening FOR ZONES 34-42.
High Wind Warning in effect from 3 PM this afternoon to 9 PM
MDT Tuesday FOR ZONES 63-141-172-228.
Wind Advisory in effect from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM MDT
Tuesday FOR ZONES 65-66.
WY...None.
&&
weather.gov/billingsPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings MT
839 PM MDT Sun Mar 15 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0500 PM Snow 1 SSW Red Lodge 45.18N 109.25W
03/15/2026 M7.0 Inch Carbon MT CO-OP Observer
CO-OP Observer station RELM8 0.6 S Red
Lodge.
0400 PM Snow 3 ENE Mystic Lake 45.24N 109.73W
03/15/2026 M5.5 Inch Stillwater MT CO-OP Observer
CO-OP Observer station MYSM8 Fishtail 18 SW.
0500 PM Snow Hardin 45.73N 107.61W
03/15/2026 M5.0 Inch Big Horn MT CO-OP Observer
CO-OP Observer station HDNM8 Hardin.
0600 PM Snow 8 NNE Powderville 45.85N 105.03W
03/15/2026 M3.5 Inch Custer MT CO-OP Observer
CO-OP Observer station POWM8 7.7 NE
Powderville.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Rapelje 2 gusted to 59 mph.
Big Timber SE gusted to 63 mph.
Judith Gap mtdot gusted to 59 mph.
Kilo gusted to 60 mph.
Harlowton S gusted to 64 mph.
Ryegate S gusted up to 68 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, 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: 1328868, 1328866, 1327545, 1328863, 1328865, 1328867.