High Wind — Eastern Toole and Liberty, Montana

2024-10-04 · Eastern Toole and Liberty, Montana

Event narrative

Many, many sensors measured gusts at or above 58 mph across the entire zone, including mesonet station GW3478 Tiber which measured an 80 mph gust.

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 1211462. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.