High Wind — Madison, Montana

2020-10-30 · Madison, Montana

Event narrative

Mesonet station mtnor norris hill (mt dot) reported a wind gust of 58 MPH.

Wider weather episode

A cold front shifted east across the region during the afternoon of October 30, bringing gusty winds along and behind it. Wind gusts in excess of 50 mph were most widespread across north-central MT through the late afternoon. Gusts to 40 mph were likely across much of SW MT as well going into the evening with the strongest gusts through mountain passes.

While winds began to decrease during the evening, strong wind gusts lingered into the overnight period across eastern portions of north-central MT before winds aloft and the surface pressure gradient there relaxed. Favorable conditions for mountain wave wind enhancement were present along the immediate east slopes of the Rockies early in the evening, where some localized gusts to around 80 mph occurred, particularly west of Choteau and Bynum.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 924561. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.