High Wind — Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine, Montana

2024-12-08 · Bears Paw Mountains and Southern Blaine, Montana

Event narrative

Mesonet station FBLM8 Fort Belknap RAWS measured a 59 mph gust.

Wider weather episode

An upper level ridge across the Northern Rockies was flattened by a potent shortwave over Dec 6-8 timeframe. Initially stout zonal mid-level flow was aided by a strengthening pressure gradient to result in quite a few strong winds gusts over the multi-day period. Adequate moistures resulted in locally heavy snow along the Rocky Mountain Front and into Central Montana by Dec 9.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1221274. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.