Montana, 2002

Heavy Snow in Montana, February 27 to 28, 2002

February 27 to 28, 2002 · NWS MSO · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy snow fell over the mountains of west central Montana. Snowfall ranged from 6 to 8 inches in Missoula County to 8 to 10 inches in the Bitterroot and Pintlar Mountains.

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.

Heavy snow fell over the mountains of west central Montana. Snowfall ranged from 6 to 8 inches in Missoula County to 8 to 10 inches in the Bitterroot and Pintlar Mountains.

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 26, 2:50 PM MST, 21 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 26, 2:50 PM MST, 21 hours 10 minutes before
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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, Blackfoot Region

When
February 27, 12:00 PM MST to February 28, 12:00 PM 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 27, 12:00 PM MST to February 28, 12:00 PM 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)

Heavy Snow, Butte / Pintlar Region

When
February 27, 12:00 PM MST to February 28, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Butte / Pintlar Region forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
46.306, -113.025 (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

More

Every storm in Montana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5282320, 5282321, 5282322.