Thermospheric wind observations from high to mid latitudes are compared with the newly developed Multiscale Atmosphere Geospace Environment (MAGE) model for the Nov 3–4 geomagnetic storm. The observation and simulation comparison shows a very good agreement and is better at high latitudes in general. We were able to identify a thermospheric poleward wind reduction possibly linked to a northward turning of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) at ~22 UT on Nov 3 and an enhancement of the poleward wind to a southward turning near 10 UT on Nov 4 at high latitudes. An IMF southward turning may have led to an enhancement of equatorward winds at Boulder, Colorado near midnight. Simultaneous occurrence of aurora may be associated with an IMF By turning negative. The MAGE model wind simulations are consistent with observations in these cases. The results show the model can be a very useful tool to further study the magnetosphere and ionosphere coupling on short time scales.