Montana, 1998

Heavy Snow in Montana, March 3 to 4, 1998

March 3 to 4, 1998 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Ten inches of snow fell at Big Mountain Ski Resort and 13 inches at Bigfork. Ten inches of snow fell at a location 4 miles east of Glacier International Airport in 12 hours ending 700pm on the 3rd while the airport itself only received four and a half inches.

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

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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 MSO wrote it up.

Ten inches of snow fell at Big Mountain Ski Resort and 13 inches at Bigfork. Ten inches of snow fell at a location 4 miles east of Glacier International Airport in 12 hours ending 700pm on the 3rd while the airport itself only received four and a half inches. Also, 7 inches of snow fell at the 4600 foot msl elevation level above Seeley Lake.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, West Glacier/Bob Marshall Region

When
March 3, 7:00 AM MST to March 4, 7:00 AM MST
Where
West Glacier/Bob Marshall Region forecast zone
Coordinates
47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When
March 3, 7:00 AM MST to March 4, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Coordinates
47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5629940, 5629941.