Heavy Snow in Montana, February 24, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Montana, February 24, 2002
Start: 2002-02-24T16:56
End: 2002-02-24T16:56
Location: Montana

February 24, 2002 · 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 24, 2:33 PM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:33 PM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BILLINGS MT
233 PM MST SUN FEB 24 2002

.SHORT TERM...VALID FOR MON...TUE...WED...
850-700MB FRONTOGENESIS AIDED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CONVECTIVE BAND
OF SNOW THAT PUSHED SOUTHEAST THROUGH SOUTH CENTRAL MONTANA.
VISIBILITIES DROPED TO 1/4 MILE WITH SNOW RATES UP TO 1 INCH/HOUR IN A
FEW LOCATIONS.  ACCUMULATIONS AS OF EARLY THIS AFTERNOON RANGED FROM
3 TO 4 INCHES MOST LOWER ELEVATIONS SHR-BIL-3HT. HOWEVER...
6-9 INCHES FELL WEST OF BIG TIMBER WHICH CAUSED ACCIDENTS ALONG THE
INTERSTATE.  THIS BAND WILL CONTINUE MOVING THROUGH THE BIG HORN
MOUNTAINS AND SHERIDAN COUNTY EARLY THIS EVENING...THEN CLEARING WILL
SLOWLY TAKE PLACE.  WILL KEEP THE ADVISORY GOING FOR BIG HORN AND
SHERIDAN COUNTIES. 10-20KT NORTH WINDS WILL ENHANCE SNOWFALL IN THE BIG
HORN MOUNTAINS...SO WILL CONTINUE THE WARNING THERE.  SOME WEAK FORCING
WILL LINGER OVER THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT.  HOWEVER 850-700MB
TEMPERATURES WILL DROP BELOW -20C...WHICH WILL RESULT IN VERY POOR ICE
CRYSTAL GROWTH.  SO WILL JUST MENTION FLURRIES AFTER THIS EVENING.
LINGERING CLOUDS SHOULD PREVENT TEMPS FROM DROPING MORE THAN 15 DEGREES
MOST SPOTS TONIGHT.

ANOTHER WEAK WAVE WILL ROTATE THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY.  BUT 850-700MB
TEMPS WILL STILL BE BELOW -20C...SO REALLY DONT SEE MORE THAN FLURRIES.
CLOUDS SHOULD ALSO PREVENT MUCH OF A WARM UP MONDAY.  SHORT WAVE
RIDGING WILL TAKE PLACE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY WITH WESTERLY FLOW
TAKING OVER.  WINDS WILL KEEP TEMPS UP SOME OVER WESTERN ZONES...BUT THE
EAST SHOULD DECOUPLE AND RADIATE OUT FAIRLY WELL SINCE SKIES WILL BE
PARTLY CLOUDY.  TEMPS WILL REBOUND SOME TUESDAY AFTERNOON...BUT RECENT
SNOW WILL HINDER THE WARMING. ANOTHER WEAK WAVE IS FORECAST TO DROP
DOWN INTO THE AREA WEDNESDAY. WILL KEEP POPS ISOLATED OR IN THE LOW
CHANCE CATEGORY FOR THAT FEATURE. MOORE

.LONG TERM...VALID FOR THU...FRI...SAT...SUN...

PROGRESSIVE PATTERN THROUGH THE PERIOD. MODELS ARE NOT IN VERY
GOOD AGREEMENT. BUT OVERALL...ZONAL TO NW FLOW ALOFT...WITH EMBEDDED
SHORTWAVES MOVING OUT OF CANADA WILL CONTINUE THURS THROUGH SUN. THIS
WILL PROVIDE FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP EACH DAY. IT LOOKS LIKE THE
STRONGER OF THE SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA...ESPECIALLY THE
WESTERN ZONES...DURING THE DAY THURS.  A SECOND WAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH
THE EASTERN PART OF THE STATE FRIDAY. THIS LOOKS WEAKER THAN THURSDAYS
SYSTEM. THERE IS SOME INSTABILITY SHOWING ON TIME HEIGHTS FOR THURS
WITH A DECENT LAYER OF MOISTURE UP TO 500MB ALONG WITH SOME LIFT. QPF
AMNTS ARE AROUND A TENTH OF AN INCH FOR THURS. ALTHOUGH...AT THIS
TIME...NOTHING LOOKS IMPRESSIVE AT ALL. FMR & MEX WANT TO START A SLIGHT
WARMING TREND THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH FMR BEING MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN THE
MEX. FEEL THAT CURRENT SNOW COVER WILL STAY AROUND THROUGH THE WEEK AS
COLD TEMPS WILL STAY IN PLACE. THEREFORE...WILL GO WITH MEX GUIDANCE AND
TRIM THOSE NUMBERS DOWN JUST A HAIR.  HOOLEY

    MON     TUE     WED     THU     FRI     SAT     SUN
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 901/011 901/021 013/026 011/027 014/030 017/033 021/034
    +1/M    10/B    02/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B
LVM 000/012 004/024 008/025 010/026 013/027 016/031 017/030
    +1/M    10/B    03/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B
HDN 903/010 903/020 009/025 009/026 011/029 015/032 017/033
    +1/M    10/B    02/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B
MLS 903/010 906/018 006/024 009/025 011/026 014/030 019/033
    11/M    10/B    03/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B
4BQ 903/010 908/017 005/022 008/026 010/027 013/030 018/031
    +1/M    10/B    03/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B
BHK 905/008 910/014 002/020 006/022 009/023 011/026 016/030
    11/M    10/B    03/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B
SHR 903/010 908/017 005/024 008/028 011/028 015/033 018/034
    +1/M    10/B    03/J    32/J    32/E    22/E    11/B

.BYZ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR NORTHEAST BIG HORN MOUNTAINS
       AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BIG HORN AND SHERIDAN
       COUNTIES THIS EVENING.

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass

When: February 24, 4:56 PM MST
Where: Wheatland/Park/Sweet Grass forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

9 inches of new snow in Livingston

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, February 2002

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: 5278826.