High Wind in Northern High Plains, Montana

Multiple sensors measured sustained winds of 50 mph or greater averaged over at least an hour, or gusts in excess of 75 mph, including Montana mesonet stations Dog Gun Lake E, Wetzel NE, and Dupuyer N, mesonet stations MTBWG Browning (MT DOT), SHBM Browning, MTBRN Two Medicine Bridge (MT DOT), and RAWS station BGRM8 Browning. The peak observed gust in this zone was 95 mph at Dog Gun Lake E. This sensor also recorded sustained winds, averaged over an hour, of 68 mph between 1205 PM and 105 PM MST.

Robust low to mid level flow westerly flow associated with a potent shortwave and attendant cold fronts resulted in a prolonged period of high-end winds and gusts across the entire region Dec 17 into the 18th. Multiple gusts in excess of 90 mph were observed in populated areas, with a peak observed gust of 104 mph west of Bynum. Prolonged power outages were observed across the region, mostly due to trees being damaged/falling over completely. Additional societal impacts included extremely difficult to impossible travel conditions, which prompted a Civil Emergency Message for areas along the Rocky Mountain Front the afternoon of the 17th.