Blizzard, Powder River
- When
- April 5, 12:00 PM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Powder River forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.395, -105.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Montana, April 5, 1997
WEATHER SPOTTER IN SONNET REPORTING HEAVY SNOW 30 TO 40 MPH WINDS AND WHITE OUT CONDITIONS. SNOW DRIFTS UP TO 6 FEET HIGH.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 BYZ wrote it up.
WEATHER SPOTTER IN SONNET REPORTING HEAVY SNOW 30 TO 40 MPH WINDS AND WHITE OUT CONDITIONS. SNOW DRIFTS UP TO 6 FEET HIGH. SHERIFF IN BROADUS REPORTED HEAVY SNOW AND VISIBILITIES LESS THAN 1/4 MILE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Powder River
- When
- April 5, 12:00 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Powder River forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.395, -105.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in Minnesota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Flood in North Dakota, April 5 to 8, 1997
- Flash Flood in Arkansas, April 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 8, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 9, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, April 5, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, April 5 to 6, 1997
More
Every storm in Montana in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, April 1997
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: 5594074, 5594075.