550
FXUS65 KTFX 021728
AFDTFX
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1128 AM MDT WED SEP 2 2026
AVIATION SECTION UPDATED.
KEY MESSAGES
- SEVERE STORM CLUSTERS AND A BROKEN SQUALL LINE WILL SWEEP
CENTRAL MONTANA AND THE HI-LINE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON BRINGING
WINDS OVER 60 MPH.
- HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MADISON RIVER VALLEY
WHERE NON-THUNDERSTORM WINDS COULD GUST UPWARDS OF 60 MPH.
- STRONG WINDS ACROSS SOUTHWEST MONTANA WITH MINIMUM RELATIVE
HUMIDITY 20-30% WILL CAUSE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
DISCUSSION
/ISSUED 453 AM MDT WED SEP 2 2026/
- METEOROLOGICAL OVERVIEW:
WEDNESDAY SEVERE CONVECTIVE THREAT:
AN UNUSUALLY ENERGETIC MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE IMPULSE AND ACCOMPANYING
JET STREAK WILL EJECT NORTHEAST ACROSS MONTANA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
EXTREME FORECAST INDEX GUIDANCE (EFI) HIGHLIGHTS AN ANOMALOUS WIND
EVENT, WITH VALUES WELL ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY AND A HIGH SHIFT OF TAILS
OVER CENTRAL MONTANA INTO THE HI-LINE.
POLEWARD MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL YIELD HIGH SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE
UPPER 40S TO LOW 50S ACROSS THE PLAINS. DIURNAL HEATING WILL FOSTER
ROBUST DESTABILIZATION ACROSS CENTRAL MONTANA AND THE HI-LINE,
FEATURING WIDESPREAD SBCAPE VALUES BETWEEN 1500 AND 2000 J/KG AND
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR NEAR 35KTS. CLOUD BASES WILL REMAIN HIGH, LARGELY
ABOVE 8KFT, ABOVE THE SUPERADIABATIC BOUNDARY LAYER WITH STEEP MID
AND LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES UPWARDS OF 9 C/KM.
REGARDING TIMING, CONVECTION WILL INITIATE OVER SW MONTANA IN THE
EARLY AFTERNOON (17Z-19Z). STORM MODE LOOKS TO LARGELY FAVOR
INDIVIDUAL CELL CLUSTERS INITIATING OFF TERRAIN AND TRACKING
NORTHEAST. AS THE STORMS CREST THE RIDGE LINE, CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT
IS LIKELY AS THE SYSTEM BEGINS TO GROW MORE UPSCALE INTO A BROKEN
SQUALL LINE MOVING INTO THE PLAINS AND HI-LINE. STORM MOTION WILL BE
FAST, ASSISTING THE STORMS OUT OF THE CWA BY LATE AFTERNOON INTO
EVENING (23Z-01Z). STRONG SUB-CLOUD EVAPORATION WILL GENERATE HIGH
DCAPE VALUES OVER 1200 J/KG, WHICH WHEN COUPLED WITH EFFICIENT
MOMENTUM TRANSFER FROM THE 40-60KT MID-LEVEL JET, WILL DRIVE A HIGH-
CONFIDENCE THREAT FOR SEVERE WIND GUSTS EXCEEDING 60 TO 75 MPH
ACROSS THE PLAIN AND HI-LINE.
SOUTHWEST MONTANA SYNOPTIC HIGH WIND & FIRE WEATHER:
AN ANOMALOUS 700MB SOUTHERLY JET STREAK OF 30-40KTS WILL PERSIST
OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING.
DEEP BOUNDARY LAYER MIXING AND TOPOGRAPHIC FUNNELING DOWN NORTH-
SOUTH ORIENTED VALLEYS WILL SUPPORT STRONG SYNOPTIC GUSTS.
NBM PROBABILITIES FOR GUSTS EXCEEDING 55 MPH ARE HIGHEST ACROSS THE
MADISON RIVER VALLEY NEARING 45% WITH LOCALIZED GUSTS OVER 60 MPH
POSSIBLE, SUPPORTING HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA. ADJACENT VALLEYS,
BEAVERHEAD AND BLACKTAIL WILL EXPERIENCE STRONG WINDS BUT CONFIDENCE
IS TOO LOW (<20%) IN WINDS EXCEEDING 55 MPH. THAT BEING SAID, 45-50
MPH GUSTS ARE CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. POOR OVERNIGHT DECOUPLING
WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL KEEP THE THREAT ELEVATED AS WE MOVE INTO
THURSDAY EVENING, THOUGH CONFIDENCE DECREASES IN WARNING CRITERIA
WINDS. ADDITIONALLY, DEEP MIXING WILL DROP MINIMUM RH AS LOW AS 15%
WITH WIDESPREAD 20-30% VALUES PRESENT ACROSS THE ENTIRETY OF
SOUTHWEST MONTANA. THOSE FACTORS COMBINED WITH ONGOING FIRES AND
CURED FUELS WILL LEAD TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS BOTH DAYS.
EXTENDED OUTLOOK:
PERSISTENT SOUTHWEST FLOW REMAINS ANCHORED IN THE WAKE OF WEDNESDAYS
WAVE. A BROADER MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE AND UPPER JET STREAK WILL
TRAVERSE THE REGION LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. WHILE CONFIDENCE IS
LOW IN THE EXACT PROGRESSION OF EVENTS, ITS WORTH NOTING THE
POTENTIAL RETURN OF SYNOPTIC ASCENT AND THUS THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY
WINDS AND SCATTERED CONVECTION.
THE CUT OFF PACIFIC LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE BARRAGE OF SHORTWAVES
AND RESULTING ACTIVE PERIOD LOOKS TO DISLODGE LATE WEEKEND INTO NEXT
WEEK. CONFIDENCE IS LOW AT THE IMMEDIATE IMPACTS BUT THERE IS
INCREASING CHANCES OF A REGIME CHANGE TO BROADER SYNOPTIC FORCING.
- FORECAST CONFIDENCE & SCENARIOS:
WEDNESDAY CONVECTIVE WINDS: HIGH CONFIDENCE (>80%) IN THUNDERSTORMS
THAT WILL POSE THE RISK OF SEVERE GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60MPH GIVEN
STRONG MULTI-ENSEMBLE AGREEMENT. SOUNDINGS AREA WIDE SUPPORT
EFFICIENT DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND STRONG INSTABILITY FOR STORM
MAINTENANCE.
SW MONTANA HIGH WINDS: MEDIUM CONFIDENCE (60%) IN MEETING HIGH WIND
WARNING CRITERIA IN TERRAIN-ALIGNED VALLEYS ON WEDNESDAY EVENING AS
THE PEAK OF THE 700MB JET IS OVERHEAD. CONFIDENCE DECREASES INTO
THURSDAY AS THE JET STREAK EXITS NORTH AND EAST.
FIRE WEATHER: MEDIUM CONFIDENCE (50%) IN CRITICAL CONDITIONS ON
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. WINDS ARE THE HIGHEST SOURCE OF CONFIDENCE,
HUMIDITY IS OUR LOWEST WITH VALUES BORDERLINE. HOWEVER, DEEP MIXING
ADVERTISED BY THE MODELS DOES SUPPORT VALUES APPROACHING CRITICAL
VALUES.
EXTENDED REGIME: LOW CONFIDENCE (30%) IN THE OVERALL CHANGES IN THE
UPPER-LEVEL PATTERN. CUT OFF LOWS ARE NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT TO PIN
POINT IN THE LONG RANGE AS ARE THE RESULTING IMPACTS.
- JR [THNKS TO ERIC A & EVAN T FOR PREPARING ME TO WRITE MY 1ST AFD]
AVIATION
02/18Z TAF PERIOD
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL AT ALL TERMINALS DURING THIS TAF
PERIOD OUTSIDE OF DURING ANY THUNDERSTORMS. DURING THE BEGINNING
OF THIS TAF PERIOD THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE KHLN, KGTF, KCTB,
AND KHVR TERMINALS. DURING ANY THUNDERSTORMS THERE WILL BE GUSTY,
ERRATIC WINDS, LIGHTNING, AND A BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOUR. THE HEAVY
DOWNPOUR COULD BRIEFLY CAUSE MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION AND A REDUCTION
IN VISIBILITY TO MVFR-LEVELS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE
WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 KTS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A LOW
CHANCE TO KICK UP ENOUGH DUST TO REDUCE VISIBILITY TO MVFR-LEVELS
OR LOWER. DURING THE DURATION OF THIS TAF PERIOD THERE WILL BE
ISOLATED INSTANCES OF LOW-LEVEL WIND SHEAR. AT THE KEKS TERMINAL
FOR THE FIRST 9 HOURS OF THIS TAF PERIOD THERE WILL BE SUSTAINED
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 KTS. DURING THIS TAF PERIOD SMOKE FROM
WILDFIRES WILL REDUCE SLANTWISE VISIBILITY ACROSS ALL TERMINALS.
-IG
FOR KGTF: WINDS WILL QUICKLY PICK UP OUT OF THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST
THIS AFTERNOON. THERE IS A 20% CHANCE FOR EXCEEDING A 15KT
CROSSWIND BETWEEN 02/18Z AND 02/21Z. BETWEEN 21Z AND 23Z A LINE
OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL APPROACH KGTF. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL
PRODUCE WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 50 KTS WITH A LOW CHANCE FOR A
WIND GUST EXCEEDING 60 KTS. ADDITIONALLY THERE IS AN EXPECTED WIND
SHIFT WITH THIS LINE FROM A MORE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST DIRECTION TO THE
WEST BEHIND THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS. GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH AT LEAST 03/04Z BEFORE SLOWLY TAPERING OFF AS THE NIGHT
CONTINUES. THE THREAT FOR CROSSWINDS WILL BE LOW BUT THE HEADWINDS
MAY BE ABOVE 15KTS THROUGH AT LEAST 03/03Z. -THOR/IG
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
GTF 84 50 77 49 / 50 10 0 10
CTB 78 45 68 44 / 90 40 0 30
HLN 80 49 77 50 / 80 10 0 10
BZN 80 48 77 48 / 10 0 0 0
WYS 65 34 64 35 / 10 10 20 0
DLN 75 45 73 45 / 30 10 0 10
HVR 88 49 81 50 / 40 50 0 0
LWT 84 49 79 51 / 30 10 0 0
TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR MADISON RIVER
VALLEY.
HIGH WIND WATCH FROM 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY
EVENING FOR MADISON RIVER VALLEY.
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