High Wind in Fergus County Below 4500ft, Montana

Many locations measured gusts of or greater than 58 mph, including AWOS station KMVH N Bar Ranch, which measured a peak gust of 70 mph. N Bar Ranch also measured sustained winds averaging 42 mph over nearly 3 hours. Other sites that measured high wind criteria sustained winds or gusts include ASOS station KLWT Lewistown Airport, Montana Mesonet site Coffee Creek N Hydromet, Montana Mesonet site Coffee Creek N Agrimet, mesonet station MTDEN Denton (MT DOT), AWOS station K1DM Delta, AWOS station K1OM Oscar, Montana mesonet site Forestgrove N, Montana mesonet site Woodhawk, Montana mesonet site Roy E, and AWOS station K1NM November.

A robust trough digging southeastward from the Pacific Northwest brought a belt of strong mid and low-level westerly flow across the majority of the region December 18. Given the favorable timing of the strongest flow and cold front, winds were easily able to mix to the surface. A respectable pressure gradient also developed across the area, which helped a few sites reach high sustained winds. In northeastern areas the wind took longer to develop, eventually needing the surface low to pull away from AB toward SK. This propelled a front through the area that brought both strong winds as well as rain that fell onto very cold surfaces, resulting in slick roads.