High Wind in Hill County, Montana

Montana mesonet station Inverness N measured sustained winds averaging 41 mph over 6 hours. Additionally, mesonet station E1931 Rudyard 11 S measured a 59 mph gust.

A deep and broad upper level trough across the western US initially resulted in a fetch of strong southerly flow aloft across the region on the 22nd. The initial impact from this was for strong winds across a few locations in north to south oriented valleys in Southwest Montana. As the fetch of stronger southerly flow moved east, the core of the upper low moved overhead, resulting in a stretch of snow, some heavy, across terrain and northerly upslope areas. Another stronger core of winds aloft combined with departing surface low pressure to result in strong northwest winds over portions of the plains through the 23rd.