High Wind — Judith Basin County and Judith Gap, Montana

2024-10-04 · Judith Basin County and Judith Gap, Montana

Event narrative

AWOS station K1BM Bravo 5 miles ENE of Geyser measured a 71 mph gust. Additional sensors in this zone that measured gusts of 58 mph or greater include AWOS K1CM Charlie 2 miles NW of Windham, and mesonet station MTM09 (MT-MESO) 2 miles west of Moccasin.

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 1209479. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.