High Wind — Red Lodge Foothills, Montana

2021-01-13 · Red Lodge Foothills, Montana

Event narrative

Winds gusted to 63 mph across the area. Two fires started from tree limbs on powerlines. In addition, a few irrigation pivots tipped.

Wider weather episode

On January 13, 2021, a particularly strong wind event impacted the entire Billings Forecast Area with strong, damaging winds, not only along the foothills (where strong winds are common), but also across the lower elevations of south central and southeast Montana. These strong winds were associated with a cold frontal passage and lasted for several hours.

The arrival of a Pacific cold front on the 13th was followed by a period of subsidence and very strong winds across the lower elevations. Aloft, a strong northwesterly oriented jet stream was driving through the northern Rockies, resulting in strong winds at mountain top level. In addition, the cold front also produced light shower activity which enhanced the gustiness of the surface winds. The combination of all these ingredients resulted in the very strong winds. Westerly, wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph were common, and gusts exceeded 90 mph at some mountain sites.

In addition to the wind, intense drying occurred behind the front and resulted in the development and rapid spread of a few grass fires. The largest fire was in Musselshell County near North Delphia Road just east of Roundup. Musselshell County Department of Emergency Services reported the loss of three primary residences and several secondary structures.

The following wind gust records at local airports occurred:

The peak wind gusts at Billings (69 mph) and Miles City (75 mph) were each records for January. Sheridan (67 mph) reported its 4th highest January gust. The following day (January 14th) Miles City reported a peak gust of 66 mph, which ranks 2nd for January.

The following is a list of impacts that occurred during this high wind event:

-Many large trees blown down

-Many power lines downed resulting in power outages.

-Several semis blown over

-Frequent reports of near zero visibility in blowing dust, resulting in severe driving conditions

-Scattered minor property damage

-Several grass fires

-A United Airlines flight was diverted from Billings to Bozeman

-Montana Department of Transportation reported 35-40 incidents statewide and a high volume of calls (1000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 936152. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.