Heavy Snow in Montana, February 4 to 5, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Montana, February 4 to 5, 2001
Start: 2001-02-04T07:00
End: 2001-02-05T07:00
Location: Montana

February 4 to 5, 2001 · NWS MSO · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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.

Widespread heavy snow impacted northwest and west central Montana with a winter storm that dumped 6 to 12 inches in the valleys and 12 to 20 inches in the mountains. Some 24 hour snowfall totals were: In Lincoln County, Libby 8 inches and Bull Lake 12 inches; in Flathead County, Noisy Basin 15 inches, Essex 11 inches, Kalispell 9 inches, and Big Fork 10 inches; in Lake County, Ronan 8 inches and Swan Lake 11 inches; in Sanders County, Heron 9 inches, Noxon 12 inches and Poorman Peak 15 inches; in Mineral County, Deborgia 6 inches, Lookout Pass 12 inches, and Hoodoo Basin 17 inches; in Missoula County, Lolo Pass and Snowbowl 8 inches, Seeley Lake 12 inches and 20 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 4, 2:50 AM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 2:50 AM MST, 4 hours 10 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
250 AM MST SUN FEB 4 2001

WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 5000 FEET TODAY AND TONIGHT ID ZONES 5-6-8
AND MT ZONES 1-2-4-6-43. WINTER STORM WATCH MT ZONE 7 THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT.

POTENT SYSTEM APPROACHING PAC NW COAST THIS MORNING WITH PRECIP INTO
EAST WA/OR...CLOSE TO MESO ETA TIMING. WILL SEE PRECIP SPREAD INTO
NC ID NEXT FEW HOURS...WEST MT MID TO LATE MORNING. SYSTEM TAPPING
GOOD MOISTURE SOURCE OFF UPPER LOW NEAR 30N/150W WITH PRECIP H20
VALUES NEAR 1 INCH OFFSHORE. MODEL QPF FORECASTS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT
WARNING AMOUNTS FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS THROUGH TONIGHT. VALLEY PRECIP
IN THE FORM OF RAIN FOR NC ID VALLEYS WHERE TEMPS CURRENTLY IN LOW/
MID 30S...MT VALLEYS DIFFERENT STORY AS CLEAR SKIES OVERNIGHT ALLOWED
TEMPS TO DROP INTO TEENS/20S. EXPECT TO START AS SNOW THEN MIX FAIRLY
QUICK WITH STRONG WINDS ALOFT AND SHALLOW INVERSIONS WHICH HAVE NOT
HAD MUCH TIME TO ESTABLISH. BUT...STRONG WESTERLY FLOW TODAY WILL
PROVIDE DOWNSLOPE EFFECT FOR VALLEYS AND KEEP SIGNIFICANT PRECIP
AMOUNTS IN CHECK. WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR POSSIBILITY OF BRIEF PERIOD
OF FZRA DEPENDING ON HOW SOON MIXING OCCURS. MAIN SHORTWAVE AND JET
SAG ACROSS FORECAST AREA TONIGHT TO KEEP PRECIP GOING. THIS ALSO
PROVIDES BEST SHOT FOR SOUTHWEST MT ZONES...BUT AT THIS TIME NOT
CONFIDENT IN WARNING AMOUNTS. 120KT JET CORE AND 700 MB WINDS OF
50-60 KTS TONIGHT FOR STRONG WINDS IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. COLD
ADVECTION WILL TRANSITION PRECIP BACK INTO SNOW FOR ALL EXCEPT VERY
LOWEST ELEVATIONS OVERNIGHT. SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUE MONDAY UNDER
CYCLONIC NORTHWEST FLOW WITH ANOTHER SHORTWAVE ROTATING THROUGH.

EXTENDED...PREDOMINATE FEATURE MOST OF THE WEEK WILL BE NORTH
NORTHWEST FLOW...WITH MAIN IMPACT BEING COLDER TEMPS. MODELS BRING
SERIES OF SHORTWAVES THROUGH WITH NEW MRF BRINGING MORE SIGNIFICANT
WAVE TOWARD THE AREA +AT END OF PERIOD. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES.

SULLIVAN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Kootenai/Cabinet Region

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where: Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, West Glacier Region

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where: West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where: Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lower Clark Fork Region

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where: Lower Clark Fork Region forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.286, -114.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Blackfoot Region

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where: Blackfoot Region forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.986, -113.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 7:00 AM MST
Where: Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5230030, 5230031, 5230032, 5230033, 5230034, 5230142.