Atmospheric patterns between strong low pressure and strong high pressure continued to direct strong and severe gusty winds into portions of northeast Montana.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 GGW wrote it up.
Atmospheric patterns between strong low pressure and strong high pressure continued to direct strong and severe gusty winds into portions of northeast Montana.
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 Mar 16, 9:33 PM MST, 2 hours 42 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Glasgow MT 1033 PM MDT Mon Mar 16 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - A very subtle weather disturbance will bring a chance for a rain/freezing rain/snow mix this morning with light accumulations, if any. - Temperatures and chinook winds will increase sharply today; a High Wind Warning has been issued from the Little Rocky Mountains through Fort Peck Lake. - Well above normal temperatures are expected through Friday with some highs in the 70s. Temps return to normal briefly Sunday. && .DISCUSSION... WEATHER PATTERN OVERVIEW: Ahead of the approaching chinook, a small embedded short-wave impulse is expected to bring a mix of rain/freezing rain/snow from west to east early this morning before exiting for North Dakota. Accumulations will be light if any at all. The broad ridge of high pressure over the Desert SW is already making it's impact felt as increasingly above average temperatures have already pushed into the Intermountain West region and are continuing to move northeast. First local impacts in NE Montana will show up today as a strong chinooking WNW wind. Lately HREF wind model has been mostly accurate, and it is showing gusts to 60 mph easily reaching through most of our western CWA Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, the NBM on the whole has been underperforming/underestimating winds during the high wind chinook events. A High Wind Warning in place from the far west to the eastern edge of Fort Peck Lake. Expect widespread rapid snowmelt over the next couple days, and eventual snow melt for Petroleum County. Flatwillow Creek and other area drainages will need to be closely monitored for high water and flooding concerns. This ridge will remain over the western states through the end of the week with warm and generally dry weather. The next chance for any light precipitation will be over the weekend. FORECAST CONFIDENCE & DEVIATIONS: Deviations include a 50/50 blend of NBM/NBM90 from 15Z to 02Z today with the high wind across the area. Confidence is HIGH for well above normal temperatures through Friday. Confidence is MODERATE to HIGH for wind gusts up to 60 mph in the High Wind Warning area. /GAH && .AVIATION... LAST UPDATE: 0330Z FLIGHT CATEGORY: VFR DISCUSSION: The beginnings of a chinook aloft will increase high to mid level cloud cover into today. As the warm front and embedded disturbance ahead of the the chinook approached our region, a light wintry mix of rain/freezing rain/snow will be possible during the overnight hours. Precipitation amounts look minimal with only a hundredth at max, and chances themselves are below 50%. Hence the PROB30s at best. LLWS: Low level wind shear is expected across the terminals beginning around 08-09Z and remaining throughout the cycle. WIND: Light and variable ahead of the chinook this morning. Becoming WNW at 25 to 30 kts sustained, gusting around 50 kts at times after sunup and into the afternoon. Calming tonight. GAH && .GGW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 2 AM to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for Central and Southeast Phillips-Central and Southern Valley-Garfield-Northern Phillips-Northern Valley-Petroleum. High Wind Warning until 6 PM MDT Tuesday for Southwest Phillips. && weather.gov/glasgow
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Multiple observations in southwest Phillips County recorded wind gusts in excess of 60 mph, the strongest of which was 76 mph, measured at the Zortman BLM RAWS site (ALDM8).
The WarHorse NW Montana Climate Office mesonet site (WRHM8) recorded sustained winds near or greater than 40 mph for a period of 3 hours.
The Loring SW Montana Climate Office mesonet site (LORM8) recorded sustained winds near or greater than 40 mph for a period of 3 hours.
Multiple observations in central and southern Valley County recorded wind gusts in excess of 57 mph, the strongest of which was 60 mph, measured at the Vandalia N Montana Climate Office mesonet site (MTM34).
The Medicine Lake W Montana Climate Office mesonet site (MEDM8), measured a wind gust of 58 mph.
Multiple observations in central and southeast Phillips County recorded wind gusts in excess of 57 mph, the strongest of which was 62 mph, measured at the Saco S Montana Climate Office mesonet site (SASM8).
The Fort Peck Dam handar site (GGWFP), measured a wind gust of 60 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: 1311103, 1311106, 1311107, 1311109, 1311105, 1311110, 1311108.