High Wind — Upper Blackfoot and Macdonald Pass, Montana

2024-10-04 · Upper Blackfoot and Macdonald Pass, Montana

Event narrative

An Ambient station (Buckskin) barely within the zone measured a gust of 65 mph. Additionally, sustained winds, averged over greater than an hour, of 40 mph at MacDonald Pass MTMDP (MT DOT) between 1130 PM MDT and 1245 AM MDT.

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 1209483. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.