Atmospheric conditions favored the downward mixing of higher winds from above as a very strong pacific jet stream emerged eastward over the continental divide.  Some funneling was noted, especially along the higher terrain near the Little Rocky Mountains.

High Wind in CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 14:30:00 to 29-DEC-11 18:30:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: RAWS

Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph were common across the county with a peak wind gust of 60 mph measured at the King Coulee RAWS site between 1:45 PM and 2:45 PM MST.

High Wind in CENTRAL AND SE PHILLIPS, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 11:35:00 to 29-DEC-11 17:00:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 53.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: RAWS

Sustained winds of 30 to 45 mph were common across the county with a peak wind gust of 61 mph measured at the Saco US-2 DOT site at 1:20 PM MST.

High Wind in LITTLE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, MONTANA
From 28-DEC-11 08:18:00 to 28-DEC-11 14:19:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 56.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph were common across the area with gusts near 60 mph.  A peak wind gust of 65 mph was measured at the Malta South US-191 DOT site at 10:28 PM MST.

High Wind in LITTLE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 07:53:00 to 29-DEC-11 16:55:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 62.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph were common across the area with gusts often above 60 mph.  A peak wind gust of 71 mph was measured at the Malta South US-191 DOT site at 11:24 PM MST.

High Wind in PETROLEUM, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 12:00:00 to 29-DEC-11 15:00:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 50.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: RAWS

Sustained winds near or above 30 mph were common over multiple hours with a peak wind gust of 57 mph sometime between 12:22 PM and 1:22 PM MST at the Chain Buttes RAWS site.

High Wind in MCCONE, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 13:00:00 to 29-DEC-11 19:00:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 35.00 MS
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Sustained winds near and above 40 mph occurred between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM MST at the East of Fort Peck Dam (QFP) mesonet site and between 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM MST and the Cow Creek DOT site.

High Wind in NORTHERN PHILLIPS, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 11:00:00 to 29-DEC-11 14:30:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 36.00 MS
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Sustained winds near and above 40 mph occurred for 2 to 3 hours at the Whitewater (QWW) mesonet site.

High Wind in DAWSON, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 15:40:00 to 29-DEC-11 22:15:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 39.00 MS
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

Sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph were common across the county with gusts often reaching over 50 mph both at the Dawson Community Airport KGDV AWOS site and the Lindsay Divide DOT site.

High Wind in GARFIELD, MONTANA
From 29-DEC-11 16:00:00 to 29-DEC-11 18:00:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 35.00 MS
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Sustained winds near and above 40 mph occurred for a few hours at the Rock Creek (QRC) mesonet site.