Montana
Strong wind in the forecast statewide
Nick Vertz suspected calm weather wouldn’t soon return after last week’s high-speed wind event that recorded 101-mph winds in Glacier County. The Billings-based National Weather Service forecaster said Montanans should expect exceptionally strong gusts Tuesday night and Wednesday.
“I joke that the weather’s just playing catch up with how mild of a fall and start to the winter we had,” Vertz told Montana Free Press on Tuesday.
Nearly the entire state is under an official high-wind warning, meaning the weather service expects wind speeds of 58 mph or greater. While the official warning status may vary by region, the weather service anticipates the strong winds will move west to east through late Wednesday evening.
Winds aloft, higher altitude gusts that generally exceed wind speeds on the surface, are both unusually powerful and relatively low in altitude. Vertz says high-speed winds aloft blowing downward is the result of warm weather.
“You can think of it as pushing those strong winds aloft down to reach the surface,” Vertz said.
Though much of Montana experienced a similar strong-wind pattern last week, Vertz said this system is a statewide event and that the weather service has “more confidence in those stronger winds to occur just all across the board.”
With gusts coming out of the northwest, Vertz advised caution for drivers headed north or south, who would likely experience the “full brunt of those crosswinds.”
Montana’s most recent experience with a major wind event on a similar scale occurred in January 2021, according to Vertz.
Ongoing flooding in northwest Montana makes the area particularly vulnerable to high-wind hazards, like saturated soil around tree roots, according to Bryan Conlan, a weather service meteorologist based out of Missoula.
“Anywhere within western Montana at this point, with these strong to damaging winds, trees could blow over,” Conlan said.
Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday requested President Donald Trump issue a presidential disaster declaration in response to the flooding in the northwest part of the state.
As even more ocean moisture makes its way from the Pacific Northwest into Montana via “atmospheric rivers,” precipitation is likely to continue in western Montana.
“One of the differences between this and the prior system is there will be a very strong cold front that’ll be coming along,” Conlan said.
A cold front on Wednesday will mix with moisture from the atmospheric river, producing a combination of rain and snow. Cold air also leads to winds aloft descending, resulting in strong wind across high elevations in western Montana. On Monday night, winds in Glacier National Park reached almost 100 mph.
“This is going to be a fairly strong event,” Conlan said.
Nora Mabie contributed to this reporting.
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The University of Montana has announced Bobby Kennedy as its 38th head coach, following the retirement of Bobby Hauck.
Athletic Director Kent Haslam introduced Kennedy at a press conference attended by a majority of the Montana Grizzlies team, who filled the Canyon Club to show their support.
Kennedy expressed gratitude to Hauck, with whom he had been living since August when he got to Missoula to coach Montana’s Wide Receivers, and emphasized his commitment to recruiting top talent across Montana, which has been an area for concern amongst Griz fans after the Bobcats have taken the majority of the top 10 players coming out of Montana the past few years..
“Trust me when I say this. We are going to recruit Montana,” Kennedy said. “It’s a priority for us to recruit the good players in this state and to be in every school and to have UM represented.”
Kennedy, who is taking on his first head coaching role, shared his enthusiasm and noted that he anticipates this being his final coaching job. He also plans to maintain the culture established by Hauck and intends to hire a special teams coach following Hauck’s departure.
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Kennedy’s high-energy approach is expected to be beneficial as Montana’s transfer portal opens soon. “I don’t know if you can tell but I am jacked. I am jacked. And I am ready,” he said. Kennedy will have to shift his attention to Montana’s tranfer portal opening later this week for a 15 day period and then continue winter conditioning before Spring football starts up again in April.
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is reminding artists and bird enthusiasts that there is still time to enter the 2026 Montana Migratory Bird Stamp contest.
Submissions are open through Feb. 27, and this year’s contest has expanded to include waterbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and wetland-dependent passerines depicted in their natural Montana habitat. The winning artist will receive a $2,000 cash prize, and the selected artwork will be featured on Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks promotional materials throughout 2026.
While the Montana Migratory Bird Stamp is not required for hunting, officials say proceeds from stamp sales help support wetland conservation efforts across the state. Each stamp purchase also includes a free collectible sticker sheet featuring the winning design.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials say the contest is intended to highlight the importance of wetlands and their role in Montana’s ecosystem.
More information about the contest, entry guidelines and stamp purchases is available on the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks website.
Idaho Vandals (13-9, 5-4 Big Sky) at Montana State Bobcats (13-10, 7-3 Big Sky)
Bozeman, Montana; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Idaho plays Montana State after Isaiah Brickner scored 31 points in Idaho’s 79-62 win against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
The Bobcats have gone 8-1 in home games. Montana State ranks second in the Big Sky at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 70.9 points while holding opponents to 44.4% shooting.
The Vandals are 5-4 in Big Sky play. Idaho is seventh in the Big Sky with 13.2 assists per game led by Kolton Mitchell averaging 3.7.
Montana State makes 46.3% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.6 percentage points higher than Idaho has allowed to its opponents (43.7%). Idaho has shot at a 45.2% clip from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points above the 44.4% shooting opponents of Montana State have averaged.
The Bobcats and Vandals meet Thursday for the first time in Big Sky play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jed Miller is averaging 14.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Bobcats. Christian King is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Mitchell is shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Vandals, while averaging 14.1 points and 3.7 assists. Biko Johnson is averaging 14.8 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bobcats: 7-3, averaging 77.1 points, 30.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points per game.
Vandals: 5-5, averaging 76.9 points, 30.6 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.4 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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