High Wind in Montana

Events

7,676

Deaths

4

Injuries

22

Damage

$10 million

• High Wind in Montana, January 12, 20022 deaths · 4 injured · 60 kt wind · 11 eventsA high wind event moved across north central Montana on the 12th. Sustained wind speeds of 40 to 50 mph were very common throughout the afternoon, and into the evening hours. Wind gusts were near 70 mph during the peak of the event.
• Wildfire and High Wind in Montana, March 28 to 31, 20152 deaths · 64 kt wind · 19 eventsA strong upper level disturbance and associated cold front moved rapidly across the Northern Rockies on Saturday March 28th. The system produced widespread severe wind, with peak wind gusts ranging from 60 to 70 mph, along with critical fire weather conditions.
• Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Montana, April 28, 20191 death · 10 injured · 56 kt wind · 28 eventsA vigorous mid-level disturbance and attendant surface cold front moved through Montana in a northwest to southeast direction on Sunday April 28th.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in Montana, March 11 to 14, 20261 death · $156,000 · 63 kt wind · 15 eventsAn impressive, long-duration atmospheric river brought copious snowfall and high winds to western Montana. Some high-elevation areas received a few feet of snow. Impacts from this storm included power outages and impacts to travel.
• Avalanche and Heavy Snow in Montana, January 1 to 4, 20141 death · 78 kt wind · 30 eventsWesterly flow aloft and down-slope winds developed over the Rocky Mountain Front and North-Central plains. The strongest winds were along the Rocky Mountain Front but an approaching shortwave trough, allowed strong winds to spread across Central Montana.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Montana, July 14 to 15, 20251 death · $32,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsDuring the late evening of July 14th, a strong backdoor cold front moved into northwest Montana.
• Blizzard and Flooding in Montana, May 6 to 8, 2024$3.0 million · 76 kt wind · 65 eventsA closed upper level low lifted northeast across eastern Montana on May 6th through the 9th. This low merged with a shortwave streaming from the Pacific Northwest.
• High Wind and Winter Weather in Montana, November 21 to 23, 20231 death · 2 injured · 58 kt wind · 5 eventsGusty winds developed overnight as an upper level system approached the area, which brought areas of snow and wind to the region ahead of Thanksgiving.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Montana, November 4 to 5, 20221 death · $7,000 · 74 kt wind · 14 eventsAn atmospheric river of moisture brought heavy snowfall and slow travel to the region. A cold front brought high winds and power outages, followed by snow bands later in the day on the 5th.
• High Wind in Montana, December 13 to 14, 20061 death · 67 kt wind · 12 eventsDeep surface low pressure moved across Southern Canada and was responsible for gusty winds over a wide area of North Central Montana.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Montana, August 16, 20211 death · 56 kt wind · 6 eventsA weak disturbance that moved over the Billings Forecast area resulted in the development of a few thunderstorms that produced some severe wind gusts.
• Wildfire and High Wind in Montana, October 31, 1999$11 million · 65 kt wind · 14 eventsHigh winds sustained at 50 to 60 miles an hour and gusts to near 80 miles an hour caused minor damage throughout northeast Montana. The winds were also responsible for the rapid spread of several wild fires which reeked havoc through several communities.
• High Wind in Montana, December 17, 2025$2.3 million · 86 kt wind · 8 eventsOn Dec. 17, 2025, a historic high wind event driven by a strong cold front undercutting an atmospheric river brought hurricane-force winds to the region, creating a disaster of a magnitude rarely seen in our December climate record across all counties of western Montana.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in Montana, November 12 to 13, 20073 injured · $740,000 · 78 kt wind · 4 eventsOn November 12, a strong cold front moved across Western Montana and produced heavy snowfall and high winds in the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains as well as high winds in the Anaconda and Deer Lodge areas.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, July 2 to 6, 2022$700,000 · 61 kt wind · 23 eventsLow pressure along the west coast spread deeper moisture increasing the chances for showers and thunderstorms across the region through Independence Day.
• High Wind in Montana, April 9 to 10, 2005$746,000 · 74 kt wind · 9 eventsA strong area of low pressure across the extreme northeast corner of Montana produced a period of strong wind along the backside of the low. Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph were common with wind gusts as high as 85 mph at the Zortman Mine Raws site.
• High Wind in Montana, January 13, 2021$752,000 · 109 kt wind · 8 eventsA very moist atmospheric river brought heavy precipitation to the area. This was followed by an anomalously strong mid-level jet stream that lowered to the surface behind a cold front and resulted in widespread wind damage across the Northern Rockies.
• High Wind in Montana, November 3 to 5, 202274 kt wind · 89 eventsA storm system moving across the Alberta plains led to strong winds across Montana.
• High Wind in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2007$350,000 · 96 kt wind · 10 eventsA strong westerly flow aloft along with deep low pressure over central Canada combined to produce strong and gusty winds over a portion of North Central Montana. Wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were common.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Montana, February 18 to 22, 20236 injured · 68 kt wind · 34 eventsA strong storm system resulted in a long duration snow event which was the heaviest across the Little Belt Mountains and Rocky Mountain Front. Area valleys and portions of the plains experienced blustery winds and a few inches of snow.
• Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Montana, March 14 to 15, 2023$200,000 · 59 kt wind · 19 eventsA Pacific weather system arrived from the west and ushered in an unsettled weather pattern that persisted through mid-week. Strong wind occurred along the Rocky Mountain Front and portions of Central and Southwest Montana.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in Montana, November 17 to 18, 2015$255,000 · 57 kt wind · 11 eventsA strong jet aloft with a core wind speed of 170+ mph helped drive a fast moving cold front which brought high winds to many locations across the Northern Rockies. Snow above 5500 feet led to winter storm conditions for high passes and back-country users.
• Heavy Snow and High Wind in Montana, February 22 to 25, 2012$314,000 · 65 kt wind · 6 eventsAn impressive winter storm system moved into north central Idaho and western Montana on the 22nd and continued to effect the region through the 24th. Initially a steady stream of Pacific moisture moved in from the west.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Montana, May 13 to 14, 2026$9,000 · 77 kt wind · 77 eventsA trough brought an increase in southerly winds aloft on the 13th. This combined with a strongly unstable atmosphere brought severe thunderstorms producing scattered severe wind gusts across the region. High synoptic wind gusts also accompanied thunderstorms on the 13th and 14th.
• High Wind in Montana, September 28, 2019$350,000 · 52 kt wind · 2 eventsStrong east winds developed on the western side of the Whitefish and Mission ranges as high pressure settled into north-central Montana resulting in considerable damage.

High Wind everywhereEvery kind of event in Montana

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.