Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Gallatin Valley, Montana

2022-12-21 to 2022-12-23 · Gallatin Valley, Montana

Event narrative

Multiple sensors measured wind chills of less than -40 F, including ASOS station KBZN which measured a minimum wind chill of -53 F. KBZN ASOS also had a peak minimum air temperature of -45 F the morning of December 22nd, which was one degree shy of tying the all time record low for the airport. The high temperature for December 22nd at KBZN was only -24 F. Approximately 75 reports of broken water pipes were noted across the Gallatin Valley area due to the extreme cold.

Wider weather episode

Arctic air dropped south from Canada the week before Christmas bringing widespread frigid wind chills to the region. The arctic front reported in strong wind gusts and blizzard conditions in Southwest Montana. Additional areas of light to moderate snow affected much of the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1070183. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.