Hi Lyman:
There may be a correlation of some kind, but maybe not the type you're thinking of.
This is my thinking on it based on my long time amateur interest in weather.
The worst high winds(East to West) through the East Glacier area and Marias Pass are typically caused by very large, deep, intense cold air masses that slide down the Rocky Mountain front from Alberta.
"Air" is a
fluid. And the colder the air, the denser and heavier it will be...and hence it "slides" along the surface of the terrain.
IF, this cold dense air is "deep" enough, as in the recent powerful cold air mass, then it spills over the Continental Divide through the lowest "gaps"--the passes.
Think of it like a river flowing down the Eastern Rocky Mountain front. As the
river of air rises(the cold air mass intensifies and
deepens)...it "spills" over through the low points
first, the passes.
The
lowest passes, in this case Marias pass, will typically have the
higher winds because the pressure driving the air will be the
greatest....as the large deep cold air mass along the front
drives/forces the air through those low points.
Marias Pass and the Middle Fork drainage,
the path of the railroad, are the lowest points in this region....and as a consequence that area frequently gets those high winds....and they get them first.
IF the cold air mass is deep enough, then it will eventually come through the higher passes.
This is why Logan gets such high winds at times, it being relatively low compared to Dawson or Siyeh.
This same principle is at work in the Hungry Horse/Columbia Falls area. The wind just "howls" through Badrock Canyon when we get a big enough cold front on the East side. Badrock Canyon is the "outlet", if you will, into the Flathead Valley.
Wind can be absolutely ferocious in Columbia Falls and the Kalipsell Airport area too... as it
spills into the NE corner of the Flathead Valley from Badrock Canyon.... but next to nothing here in Whitefish.
I hope this makes some sense to you and others.
I
love weather stuff
pocketlint