Cold/Wind Chill, Flathead/Mission Valleys
- When
- February 1, 11:30 PM MST to February 2, 5:30 PM MST
- Where
- Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Coordinates
- 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Montana, February 1 to 2, 1996
Cold temperatures caused a valve to freeze, shutting down natural gas to the town of Choteau. The gas was off from 10 to 18 hours with overnight temperatures falling to between 30 and 40 below zero.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS TFX wrote it up.
Cold temperatures caused a valve to freeze, shutting down natural gas to the town of Choteau. The gas was off from 10 to 18 hours with overnight temperatures falling to between 30 and 40 below zero. The governor of Montana declared a state of emergency for the town. 220 plants were killed by the cold at a local nursery. Many water pipes in homes were frozen.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Mississippi, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Wyoming, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Michigan, February 1 to 6, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Montana, February 1, 1996
- Ice Storm in Mississippi, February 1 to 2, 1996
- Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 5, 1996
- Winter Storm in Texas, February 1 to 2, 1996
- Winter Storm in Alabama, February 1 to 3, 1996
- Winter Storm in Mississippi, February 1 to 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Montana in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5548276.