Heavy Snow, Yellowstone/Big Horn
- When
- March 3, 5:00 PM MST to March 4, 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Yellowstone/Big Horn forecast zone
Heavy Snow in Montana, March 3 to 4, 1998
A strong low pressure area moved out of southern Idaho and into southwestern Montana and western Wyoming on the afternoon of March 3. As this system tracked slowly across Wyoming overnight some heavy snow fell over parts of South Central Montana.
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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
A strong low pressure area moved out of southern Idaho and into southwestern Montana and western Wyoming on the afternoon of March 3. As this system tracked slowly across Wyoming overnight some heavy snow fell over parts of South Central Montana. The following are snow depth totals from the storm. In Yellowstone County...Billings 7 inches at the airport and 10 inches downtown. Lockwood 12 inches. Laurel 8 inches. In Big Horn County...Hardin 8 inches. In Carbon County...Red Lodge 5 inches. In Stillwater County...Columbus 4 inches. In Sweet Grass County...Big Timber 4 inches. In Wheatland County...Shawmut 5 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Stillwater/Carbon
- When
- March 3, 5:00 PM MST to March 4, 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Stillwater/Carbon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.669, -109.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass
- When
- March 3, 5:00 PM MST to March 4, 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass forecast zone
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Montana in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, March 1998
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5630812, 5630813, 5630814.