Montana, 2002

Heavy Snow in Montana, March 5 to 7, 2002

March 5 to 7, 2002 · NWS MSO · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Late winter storm brought heavy snow to western Montana for two days, as an arctic frontal boundary met up with a moist pacific airmass. Snowfall totals ranged from 6 to 12 inches in the valleys with one to two feet common in the mountains.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
8

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.

Late winter storm brought heavy snow to western Montana for two days, as an arctic frontal boundary met up with a moist pacific airmass. Snowfall totals ranged from 6 to 12 inches in the valleys with one to two feet common in the mountains. Local whiteout conditions prevailed as the arctic front passed through, causing snow drifts over a foot in many areas. Commercial flights into the Butte Airport were canceled for most of the day on March 7th. Highest snowfall totals recorded in the mountains were Hoodoo Basin and Poorman Creek with 33 inches, and Marias Pass with 35 inches.

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 Mar 5, 2:42 PM MST, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 2:42 PM MST, 2 hours 18 minutes before
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
242 PM MST TUE MAR 5 2002

.SHORT TERM...CLASH OF ARCTIC AIR WITH PAC MOISTURE MAKES FOR AN
INTERESTING MARCH WEATHER SCENARIO. ARCTIC FRONT IS ACROSS
NORTHWEST MT...FLATHEAD LAKE...TO SOUTH OF HELENA. TEMPERATURES HAVE
DROPPED 20 DEGREES ALONG WITH GUSTS 30-40 MPH REPORTED BEHIND THE
FRONT. WHITE OUT CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT AS ARCTIC AIR
MOVES SOUTH. EXPECT THE FRONT TO DROP TO A KMSO-KBTM LINE BEFORE 12Z.
WILL EXTEND HEAVY SNOW WARNING THIS EVENING IN GLACIER PARK DUE TO
CONTINUED UPSLOPE AND HIGH SNOW-WATER RATIO. OFFSHORE SHORTWAVE
TAPPED INTO MOIST SUBTROPICAL JET WITH TPW WELL OVER ONE INCH. CLOUD
TOPS ALREADY COOLING ACROSS OR IN ADVANCE OF THIS SYSTEM AND WILL
SPREAD OVER THE ARCTIC AIR MASS GENERATING HEAVY SNOWS THROUGH
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE WARMER TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN BITTERROOT AS THE FRONT STALLS WEDNESDAY WITH RAIN FOR LOWER
ELEVATIONS. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN 5K FEET OR HIGHER FOR ID
MOUNTAINS TOMORROW. PAC TROUGH AXIS ROTATES INLAND AND SHIFTS MOIST
PLUME ACROSS SOUTHERN AREAS WEDNESDAY NIGHT/THURSDAY AND WILL ISSUE A
WATCH FOR THESE AREAS. COOL UNSTABLE AIR MASS IN TROUGH AXIS BRINGS
LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH FRIDAY.  BOLDT

.LONG TERM...RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD BACK INTO THE REGION SATURDAY...
BUT EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES ARE PROGGED TO CROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF
CWA. SO WILL KEEP IN CHANCE/SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THEM. NEXT SYSTEM MOVES
IN MONDAY SO WILL GO MAINLY WITH CHANCE POPS TO COVER IT THROUGH THE
EXTENDED. TEMPERATURES SHOULD REBOUND NICELY CLOSER TO SEASONABLE
AS RIDGE BUILDS BACK IN. GILCHRIST

.MSO...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR MTZ002 TONIGHT AND MTZ004-043 TONIGHT
        THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...
    ...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR MTZ005-006 WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
        NIGHT...
    ...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR IDZ005-006 WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
        NIGHT...
    ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MTZ003 TONIGHT...
    ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR MTZ007-IDZ009-010 WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
       THURSDAY...

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB JJC 015/023 011/024 010/027 28954444
     CCEE 017/035 020/039 024/042 023/040 3333323433
FCA JJC 010/020 008/022 008/024 28+55544
     CEEE 016/032 021/038 023/042 023/040 3333222333
POL SJC 014/022 011/024 011/026 28+65544
     CEEE 016/035 020/039 024/042 024/041 3332112333
MSO SJJ 018/025 013/025 013/027 287+7544
     EEEE 017/035 022/041 024/044 025/043 3332112333
HMM SJJ 033/036 016/029 015/030 28597554
     EBEE 019/037 022/043 025/047 024/046 3321002333
BTM SSC 015/024 010/025 005/025 28367743
     EBEE 008/031 008/037 015/042 019/042 3310001223
ORO RJC 036/044 033/038 028/038 28797443
     EECE 031/043 032/049 035/053 037/051 3332134443
GRV OJC 034/040 029/033 024/034 28567543
     EECE 028/038 033/043 035/045 036/044 3331124343
SMN SSC 025/038 024/032 016/030 28356643
     BBEE 017/034 015/041 020/044 022/045 3300002222

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Kootenai/Cabinet Region

When
March 5, 5:00 PM MST to March 7, 10:00 PM MST
Where
Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, West Glacier Region

When
March 5, 5:00 PM MST to March 7, 8:30 AM MST
Where
West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When
March 5, 5:00 PM MST to March 6, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lower Clark Fork Region

When
March 5, 5:00 PM MST to March 7, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Lower Clark Fork Region forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
47.286, -114.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains

When
March 5, 5:00 PM MST to March 7, 7:00 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, Blackfoot Region

When
March 5, 5:00 PM MST to March 7, 12:00 PM 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, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys

When
March 6, 9:00 AM MST to March 7, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.560, -114.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Butte / Pintlar Region

When
March 7, 6:00 AM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where
Butte / Pintlar Region forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
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, March 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: 5281828, 5281829, 5281830, 5281831, 5281833, 5281835, 5281832, 5281834.