Power Outage in Kinsey, MT

A powerful upper and surface low moved across central Wyoming into the Dakotas. This resulted in heavy snow and very strong northerly winds. Most highways and roads were closed during the storm, and for a time after the storm.|According to Montana-Dakota Utilities, the strong winds and heavy, wet snow downed hundreds and possibly thousands of electrical poles, destruction that might be among the worst ever seen. Hundreds of cross arms were broken and miles of poles down with the damage being unprecedented. Snowfall amounts of 12 to 15 inches were common.

April 23, 2022

A period of very strong winds occurred for several days across the Billings Forecast Area. The strongest winds with accompanied damage occurred during the late evening of the 15th through the early afternoon hours on the 16th. A very strong jet stream overhead, along with rapid pressure rises behind a cold front, resulted in very strong, damaging winds. In addition, a mountain wave formed overnight over the Beartooth Mountains. This caused the strong jet stream winds aloft to be brought to the surface in an accelerated motion on the eastern side of the mountains. Red Lodge, MT was hit the hardest with wind gusts to 81 mph. ||A wildfire occurred during the wind storm, most likely due to downed power lines. The Rosebud Fire began at roughly 11:30pm on November 15th in the West Rosebud area. Evacuations for several areas were issued around 2am on November 16th, forcing dozens of people from their homes.

November 16, 2021

The seasons first snow occurred during the second week of October. A surface low moved northeast out of the Four Corners region across Wyoming into the northern high plains. This allowed cold air to move south out of Canada while drawing moisture northward from the Gulf of Mexico. However, most of the cold air was due to dynamic cooling as a result of this powerful low. Heavy snow occurred across the entire Billings Forecast Area with the heaviest occurring across southeast Montana close to the Dakota and Wyoming borders. In addition, very strong northwest winds on the back side of the low resulted in significant blowing and drifting snow across southeast Montana.

October 12, 2021

A strong Pacific front swept across the Billings Forecast Area. Strong subsidence occurred behind the front. This subsidence, combined with a powerful jet stream, resulted in strong winds mixing to the surface. Many locations reported winds over 60 mph. Very little damage was reported, but some locations had a few downed power lines.

March 29, 2021

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).

January 13, 2021