Montana, 2001

Heavy Snow in Montana, February 6, 2001

February 6, 2001 · NWS BYZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 6, 2:02 PM MST, 5 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 2:02 PM MST, 5 hours 58 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
202 PM MST TUE FEB 06 2001

.WED AND THU...
SNOW EVENT LOOKS TO CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY OVER UPSLOPE AREAS OF
BILLINGS COUNTY WARNING AREA. UPPER TROUGH CONTINUES TO DIG OVER
WESTERN UNITED STATES THIS AFTERNOON WITH MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW
OVERRUNNING THE ARCTIC. NICE DIFFLUENT AREA SHOWING UP FROM NEVADA
NORTHEASTWARD INTO SOUTHERN MONTANA AHEAD OF THE MEAN TROUGH. WATER
VAPOR ALSO SHOWING A WAVE OVER SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON WITH DIFFLUENCE
INTO WEST CENTRAL MONTANA OVER NORTHERN PORTION OF TROUGH. ETA
MOVES/PIVOTS UPPER TROUGH AXIS OVER WESTERN MONTANA TONIGHT...KEEPING
MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER AREA...AS A WAVE PULLS INTO SOUTHEAST IDAHO.
AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES IN 700 MB LOW MOVES INTO NORTHEAST WYOMING
BRINGING DEEP EASTERLY FLOW ACROSS AREA. BEST ISENTROPIC LIFT AND 700
OMEGA SHOULD BE OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL PORTIONS MONTANA AND SHERIDAN COUNTY
WYOMING TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. WILL CONTINUE HEAVY SNOW WARNING
THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ACCUMULATIONS OF 6-12 INCHES...WITH HEAVIEST AMOUNTS
OVER SOUTHERN BIG HORN AND SHERIDAN COUNTY WYOMING. WILL CONTINUE SNOW
ADVISORY SURROUNDING THIS. WEDNESDAY...UPPER TROUGH SLIDES CLOSER TO
AREA WITH 700 MB LOW SLIDING FURTHER SOUTH...DECREASING OMEGA DURING
THE DAY. MODELS MAY BE TOO QUICK SINCE SYSTEM LOOKS MORE AMPLIFIED
THEN THEY FORECAST...SO WILL LINGER SNOW A LITTLE LONGER THAN THEY
INDICATE. RASCH

.FRI...SAT...SUN...MON...TUE...

THE LONGWAVE PATTERN FEATURES A TROUGH OVER THE WEST COAST. THE MRF AND
UKMET...AND OLDER ECMWF...ALL DIVERGE IN SOLUTIONS BY SUNDAY. THEIR
SOLUTIONS DIFFER WITH HANDLING THE INCOMING EAST PACIFIC UPPER TROUGH.
THE MRF FORECASTS A CONTINUATION OF COLD...BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES
THROUGH THE EXTENDED. FLOW ALOFT IS FROM THE SOUTHWEST WITH INFLUENCE OF
SHORTWAVE ENERGY COMING OFF THE EAST PACIFIC GIVING A CHANCE OF SNOW
SHOWERS SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. CANEPA

    WED     THU     FRI     SAT     SUN     MON     TUE
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 008/014 001/013 002/015 009/025 013/029 015/032 010/027
    ++/S    40/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    33/J    33/J
LVM 006/016 003/016 004/015 008/025 013/029 014/031 007/028
    +7/S    40/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    33/J    33/J
HDN 007/015 901/015 002/013 007/026 011/030 011/034 008/026
    ++/S    40/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    33/J    33/J
MLS 005/014 905/013 001/015 004/023 008/025 009/031 005/018
    66/S    30/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    33/J    33/J
4BQ 005/014 901/013 001/014 004/023 008/025 009/032 004/017
    ++/S    60/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    33/J    33/J
BHK 000/012 907/011 002/015 001/022 005/023 007/030 003/015
    66/S    30/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    33/J    33/J
SHR 009/015 903/013 902/017 003/023 008/021 009/032 006/027
    ++/S    60/B    00/J    33/B    33/J    3u3/J    33/J

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass

When
February 6, 8:00 PM MST
Where
Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

6-8 inches of new snow in Big Timber

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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5234857.