2 blizzard, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 10, 8:55 PM MST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
855 PM MST SUN FEB 10 2002
.SHORT TERM...UPDATES PLANNED BY 930...SHORT WAVE IS MOVING THRU THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST. ITS APPROACH WILL CAUSE A STRONG INCREASE IN WINDS
OVERNIGHT ALONG WITH INCREASING CLOUD COVER. FORECAST LOOKS GOOD.
WILL RAISE A FEW TEMPS CONSIDERING CLOUD COVER AND THE EXPECTED
STRONG WINDS DURING THE NIGHT.
.EXTENDED...A WEAK RIDGE OVER THE ZONES ON THURSDAY. THE AIRMASS
STAYS DRY WITH A GOOD SURFACE GRADIENT IN PLACE FOR BREEZY CONDITIONS
THRU THE EXTENDED PERIOD. A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS RUN OF THE MFR
AND THE PREVIOUS...BY FRIDAY THE NEW MRF IS DIGGING A SHARP TROF OVER
THE EASTERN PACIFIC WHILE THE OLD RUN HAD NEARLY ZONAL FLOW. THE
ECMWF AND UKMET ALSO HAVE THIS DEEPER TROF...ALTHOUGH THE ECMWF IS A
BIT SLOWER...AND THE UKMET IS SLOWER STILL. THE MRF KEEPS THIS TROF
INTACT AND BRINGS IT OVER THE PACIFIC NW BY LATE SATURDAY AND ACROSS
THE ROCKIES EARLY SUNDAY. THIS TROF MAY ARRIVE SLOWER IF THE SLOWER
MODELS ARE CORRECT. THIS WOULD PRODUCE A WETTER...COOLER FORECAST.
FORECAST STILL LOOKS QUITE DRY EXCEPT FOR THE SOUTHWEST BUT TEMPS
WILL DROP ON SUNDAY. ZELZER
.CCF NUMBERS
GTF NB 036/040 018/043 020 08011
BBBNN 046/023 045/024 046/030 045/022 038 00111111221
CTB NB 036/038 016/040 015 08111
BBBNN 044/020 043/022 044/028 042/020 038 00111111221
HLN NB 026/037 015/038 010 08121
BBBEE 041/014 035/015 041/021 036/019 036 00111111221
BZN EB 018/038 010/035 005 08121
BBBEE 037/010 030/010 034/015 030/015 030 00111111331
WEY EB 906/023 910/025 905 08121
BBBEE 027/905 026/905 029/002 028/002 025 11111111551
DLN EB 016/034 008/035 006 08121
BBBEE 037/008 028/008 032/015 030/015 030 00111111331
HVR NB 034/040 016/042 014 08011
BBBNN 044/017 043/019 046/021 045/019 034 00111111221
LWT NB 032/036 015/040 014 08011
BBBEE 042/020 042/020 042/028 042/020 035 11111111221
.TFX...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH NOON MONDAY FOR THE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND ADJACENT PLAINS.
HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH NOON MONDAY FOR NORTH
CENTRAL MONTANA AND A PORTION OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA.2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow developed over the Rocky Mountain Front early on the 11th. The snow was heavy at times during the morning hours. With strong winds, roads were closed in the Glacier Park region, because of near zero visibilities. Snow generally accumulated to 8 to 12 inches over the higher terrain.
Heavy snow developed over the Rocky Mountain Front early on the 11th. The snow was heavy at times during the morning hours. With strong winds, roads were closed in the Glacier Park region, because of near zero visibilities. Snow generally accumulated to 8 to 12 inches over the higher terrain.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2002
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: 5283511, 5283512.