High Wind — Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine, Montana

2024-10-04 · Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine, Montana

Event narrative

Multiple observations of wind gusts in excess of 58 mph were observed, including a peak gust of 74 mph at the Fort Belknap RAWS. Little Bullwhacker creek RAWS and a trained spotter about 10 miles south of Chinook also observed gusts in excess of 60 mph.

Wider weather episode

A robust shortwave shifting eastward from the Pacific Northwest eclipsed the Northern Rockies during the day October 4. At the surface, a surface trough slowly increased in magnitude through the day before ejecting eastward as a surface low late afternoon. As the surface low pulled away, a strong cold front (Aided by 50-70kt winds within the first few thousand feet of the surface) swept across the region. Mechanical mixing allowed for multiple 70+ mph gusts to be realized at the surface, even with the front passing after sunset for most locations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1209323. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.