Exceptionally strong winds pushed National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists in Montana to issue a rare warning Wednesday afternoon, triggering the state’s wireless emergency alert system.
Millions of people across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains were affected by intense winds on Wednesday, with some NWS offices reporting gusts above 100 mph. The event followed an atmospheric river that battered the Pacific Northwest earlier in the week. High wind warnings were posted across more than a dozen states.
In north-central Montana, the NWS office in Great Falls issued a Civil Emergency Message (CEM) at 12:05 p.m. Mountain Standard Time as dangerous winds moved into the area. While a high wind warning was already in place, NWS warning coordination meteorologist Maura Casey said the CEM was used to activate a wireless emergency alert for residents in the hardest-hit locations.
“The CEM is a tool we have in our back pocket and use through coordination with local emergency managers … for if we want to be able to activate the wireless emergency alert system, but we don’t have a good product for the weather service to activate that,” Casey said. “It is rarely used.”
Some weather alerts—such as snow squall warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, or tornado warnings—can automatically activate the emergency alert system. But none of those categories fit Wednesday’s high-wind event, even as conditions intensified.
“In this case, we have a high wind warning out, and we have been messaging about strong, damaging winds for a while now, but there’s a shorter two- to four-hour period we are expecting and experiencing right now with exceptionally strong winds,” Casey said.
Forecasts for the Great Falls region called for wind gusts reaching roughly 90 mph.
The Great Falls office last issued a CEM during a dust storm on December 20, 2020.
The message warned that conditions would deteriorate rapidly in key areas: “Damaging winds will intensify along the Rocky Mountain Front and the Helena Valley through 4 PM this afternoon. Wind gusts in excess of 90 mph will be possible along the Rocky Mountain Front, with gusts near 80 possible across the Helena Valley. This system has a history of producing widespread power outages and repairs may not be possible until the winds subside overnight. Delay travel if possible.”
While Casey said the peak burst of extreme winds could last around four hours, the high wind warning remained in effect through midnight. Residents were urged to secure loose outdoor items, stay inside a sturdy shelter during the worst conditions, and avoid windows.
“This is a dangerous situation!” the NWS office said in its high-wind warning.
