Heavy Snow in Montana, February 2 to 3, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Montana, February 2 to 3, 2001
Start: 2001-02-02T06:00
End: 2001-02-03T06:00
Location: Montana

February 2 to 3, 2001 · NWS MSO · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

24 hour snowfall totals for winter storm that impacted western Montana were: In Mineral County, Hoodoo Basin 11 inches and Deborgia 7 inches; in Missoula County, Stuart Mountain 7 inches, North Fork Jocko 13 inches and Lolo Pass 8 inches; in Ravalli County, Skalkaho Pass 7 inches, Twin Lakes 12 inches, and Twelvemile Creek 7 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 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 MSO wrote it up.

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 2, 4:00 AM MST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 4:00 AM MST, 2 hours before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
400 AM MST FRI FEB 2 2001

...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MTZ001-002-004-006-043 AND IDZ005-006
TODAY AND TONIGHT...

.SHORT TERM...LOW CENTERED OFF THE BC COAST AROUND 50N/130W THIS
MORNING WITH PCPN AHEAD OF THE LOW NOW MOVING INTO THE PANHANDLE OF
IDAHO. THIS SYSTEM IS SUPPORTED BY A 250 MB 125 KT JET IN THE EAST
CENTRAL PACIFIC AROUND 45N. THE NOSE OF THIS JET WILL MOVE OVER THE
CWA TODAY AND INCREASE BY SAT MORNING TO 130KTS OVER WRN MT.  700 MB
WINDS AROUND 50KTS WILL INCREASE OROGRAPHICS OVER ID AND WRN
MT...ENHANCING SNOW AND QPF AMOUNTS. WIND AND SNOW WILL BE ENOUGH TO
MEET WSW CRITERIA LEVELS...THUS UPGRADED THE WATCH TO WARNING IN
MONTANA ZONES. WEST WINDS ARE BEGINNING TO INCREASE IN WESTERN
MONTANA THE PAST FEW HOURS. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP AS MID
LEVEL WINDS MIX DOWN THIS AFTERNOON. WARMER VALLEY TEMPS WILL KEEP
THE PCPN A MIX ON THE VALLEY FLOORS WITH SNOW SHOWERS IN THE
FOOTHILLS ABOVE 5000 FEET MAINLY. CHC POPS AGAIN SATURDAY WITH A
MAINLY NORTHWEST FLOW. SOME AREAS COULD SEE SOME LOCALIZED BANDS OF
SNOW FOR SOME ACCUMULATION.  WINDS WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY FROM THE
NW AS THE JET MAX CORE IS PROGGED TO BE OVER NWRN MT.

.EXTENDED...NEW MRF AND AVIATION CHANGED THEIR SCENARIO TO A DRY
SOLUTION SUNDAY AND TUESDAY...A DEVIATION FROM PREVIOUS RUNS. EARLIER
UKMET AND EUROPEAN CONTINFUED CHC POPS THROUGH THE EXTENDED. RATHER
THAN CHANGE THE EXTENDED BASED ON ONE MODEL RUN...WOULD RATHER SEE
WHAT THE NEW UK AND EURO PRESENT LATER TODAY. THUS WILL LEAVE THE
EXTENDED THE SAME.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Lower Clark Fork Region

When: February 2, 6:00 AM MST to February 3, 6:00 AM 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)

Heavy Snow, Blackfoot Region

When: February 2, 6:00 AM MST to February 3, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Blackfoot Region forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.986, -113.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains

When: February 2, 6:00 AM MST to February 3, 6:00 AM 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)

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

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: 5230024, 5230025, 5230026.