High Wind — Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and Central Pondera, Montana

2024-10-04 · Eastern Glacier, Western Toole, and Central Pondera, Montana

Event narrative

Many station within this zone measured gusts in excess of 58 mph, including ASOS station KCTB Cut Bank Airport, which measured a 74 mph gust. Additional sensors that measured gusts at or above 58 mph include the following: Mesonet station BFAM Blackfeet Agrimet, mesonet station GW1987 3 miles SE of Ethridge, mesonet station GW0664 Shelby Airport, AWOS station KSBX Shelby Airport, mesonet station D0975 Kevin, and mesonet station MTM05 ARC-WTri Conrad 6 miles NW of Ledger.

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 1209476. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.