High Wind — Southern High Plains, Montana

2024-12-06 to 2024-12-07 · Southern High Plains, Montana

Event narrative

Mesonet station DELMT Dellwo (MCSCN) meassured sustained winds, averaged over an hour, of 51 mph on top of gusts up to 74 mph. Montana Mesonet station Bynum W measured a 66 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 1221616. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.