Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, February 15, 2001

Name: Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, February 15, 2001
Start: 2001-02-15T06:00
End: 2001-02-15T18:00
Location: Montana

February 15, 2001 · NWS MSO · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 2
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

Strong winds and heavy snow lead to blizzard conditions when an arctic cold front moved into western Montana early on 02/15/01. Whiteout conditions were reported early in the morning near the continental divide and continued throughout the day, closing several highways at times. Along Interstate 90 the blizzard was accountable for one traffic-related death near Garrison. Wind chills were recorded near 40 degrees below zero at Helmville with wind gusts to 41 mph. A wind gust to 40 mph was reported at Frenchtown. DOT and spotter reports in Garrison, Avon, Greenough, Helmville, Deerlodge, and Warm Springs met blizzard conditions with strong winds, and blowing snow with visibilities reduced to near zero. Heavy snow occurred over many areas including; 10 inches at Condon, Hungry Horse, Warm Springs, and Marshall Mountain, 12 inches at Bigfork, Plains, St. Regis, and Twin Lakes, 14 inches at Moss Peak and Evaro Hill, and 18 inches at Stuart Mountain.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 15, 2:40 AM MST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 2:40 AM MST, 3 hours 20 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
240 AM MST THU FEB 15 2001

...HEAVY SNOW WARNING TODAY/TONIGHT IDZ005-006 MTZ004-006-043...
...SNOW/BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY TODAY MTZ001>003...
...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY/THIS EVENING MTZ005-007 AND IDZ007-008...

A VIGOROUS SHORT WAVE TROUGH SAGGING SOUTHWARD TODAY. SNOW HAS
ALREADY BEGUN IN PORTIONS OF CWA WITH A SURFACE BOUNDARY ALIGNED
ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. A STRONG WESTERLY JET PROVIDING PLENTY
OF LIFT WITH LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE IN THE VICINITY OF THE SURFACE
FRONT. WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL INHIBIT A FULL SCALE ARCTIC SURGE
INTO WESTERN MONTANA...BUT SOME COLD AIR WILL SEEP INTO THE FLATHEAD
VALLEY LATER THIS MORNING AND MISSOULA VALLEY LATE TODAY. THE LOW
LEVEL BOUNDARY GETS HUNG UP ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE CWA
TONIGHT AS MODELS ADVERTISE A ZONAL FLOW. OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT WILL
CONTINUE TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE FOR THE MOUNTAINS ZONES AND WILL NOT
CHANGE WSW HIGHLIGHT THAT MUCH. WILL MOVE MTZ043 INTO THE HEAVY SNOW
SEGMENT. UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS EXITING ALONG WITH THE JET CORE AND
SNOW SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF. ACROSS NORTHWEST MONTANA...SNOW
SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF LATER TODAY AS DRIER LOW LEVEL AIR
FILTERS INTO THE AREA FROM THE EAST SIDE.

FRI...MODELS IN AGREEMENT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW SYSTEM
AND PUSHING OFF THE WASHINGTON/BC COAST. THIS WILL RESULT IN SOME
RIDGING OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES...BUT POTENTIALLY SOME WARM
OVERRUNNING. CONCERN LIES WITH THE AMOUNT OF RESIDUAL MOISTURE
THAT MAY EXIST AND THE CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW.

EXTENDED...MODELS CONTINUE TO HINT AT SOME MOISTURE/ENERGY ROTATING
NORTHEAST INTO THE MEAN RIDGE PATTERN SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. WILL
CHANGE THE SUNDAY/MONDAY FORECAST TO MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE.
OTHERWISE...NO OTHER CHANGES WILL BE MADE. JOHNSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter storm, 3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, West Glacier Region

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where: West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Blackfoot Region

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Blackfoot Region forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.986, -113.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kootenai/Cabinet Region

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lower Clark Fork Region

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Lower Clark Fork Region forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.286, -114.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.508, -113.828 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Butte / Pintlar Region

When: February 15, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Butte / Pintlar Region forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.306, -113.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Blizzard, Blackfoot Region	2001-02-15	51	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, February 2001

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: 5230145, 5230146, 5230147, 5230148, 5230149, 5230150, 5230151.