A 36-hour heavy snow event brought up to a half foot of snow to valley areas stretching from Flathead Lake to Missoula and Hamilton. Snowfall in the mountains ranged from 6-12 inches to over 2 feet in Flathead County.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
A 36-hour heavy snow event brought up to a half foot of snow to valley areas stretching from Flathead Lake to Missoula and Hamilton. Snowfall in the mountains ranged from 6-12 inches to over 2 feet in Flathead County. Some totals include, Missoula 6 inches, Butte 5 inches, Lolo Pass and Warm Springs 9 inches, Marias Pass Summit 10 inches, Pike Creek 15.5 inches, and Badger Pass 31 inches.
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 May 7, 8:25 AM MST, 35 minutes earlier.
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
925 AM MDT TUE MAY 7 2002
.SHORT TERM...NO ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND STATE OKAY. HAVE INCREASED
SNOW AMOUNTS TODAY AND REPORTS OF 2-4 INCHES FAIRLY COMMON SO FAR
THIS MORNING. HEAVY WET SNOW STARTING TO CREATE PROBLEMS ON LEAFING
TREES AND WINDS YET TO KICK IN. UPPER LOW IN EASTERN WA TRYING TO
REFORM CLOSER TO THE BITTERROOTS AT 15Z. A MAJOR PLAYER WITH THIS
SYSTEM HAS BEEN A STRONG MID-LEVEL JET PUMPING PAC MOISTURE INTO
THE TROUGH...AND MOISTURE WRAPPING WELL BEFORE SYSTEM CROSSES THE
DIVIDE. SATELLITE ENHANCED TOPS MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL ID AND
ESPECIALLY ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER IN STRONG DIFFLUENCE REGION.
NORTH AREAS WILL BE UNDER INFLUENCE OF WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION
TODAY...WHILE SOUTH AND WEST MORE CONVECTIVE THIS AFTERNOON.
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL KEEP SNOW SHOWERS GOING OVER THE
CLEARWATERS/BITTERROOTS AND SOUTHERN VALLEYS THIS EVENING INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING. IMPROVING CONDITIONS TOMORROW AFTERNOON EXPECTED.
TEMPERATURES WILL NOT MOVE OUT OF THE 30S FOR MOST AREAS TODAY DUE TO
SNOW COVER...AND WILL BE CLOSE TO RECORD TERRITORY TONIGHT. BOLDT
.LONG TERM...NEW MRF IN LINE WITH PREVIOUS RUN. UPPER TROF
MOVES THROUGH ON FRIDAY WITH NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE AREA SATURDAY
RESULTING IN UNSETTLED CONDITIONS AND CONTINUED COOLER THAN NORMAL
TEMPERATURES FOR THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEKEND. ON SUNDAY THE FLOW
TURNS MORE WESTERLY AND THEN SOUTHWEST FOR MONDAY. PREVIOUS FORECAST
ON TRACK WITH CHANCE OF PRECIP FRI AND SAT AND DRY SUN AND MON. TEMPS
SHOULD GRADUALLY WARM TO CLOSE TO NORMAL BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY. KPB
.MSO...HEAVY SNOW WARNING MTZ002-006-007-043 THROUGH THIS EVENING...
...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ABOVE 3000 FEET MTZ004-IDZ005>007 THROUGH
THIS EVENING...
...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ABOVE 4500 FEET IDZ009-010 THROUGH THIS
EVENING...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MTZ003-005 THROUGH THIS EVENING...
...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB JEE /042 028/052 028/055 3674212
CEEE 036/053 035/055 033/056 033/056 033/ 29333311111
FCA SEE /038 026/048 026/053 36+5202
CEEE 035/051 034/053 031/055 031/055 031/ 29333311111
POL SEE /039 029/050 029/054 36+5202
CEEE 037/052 035/054 032/056 032/056 032/ 29333311111
MSO SEE /038 028/050 027/057 36+7211
CEEE 035/053 034/055 032/059 032/059 032/ 29333311111
HMM SEE /040 028/052 027/060 36+7211
CEEE 038/055 033/053 032/059 032/059 032/ 29333311111
BTM SEE /035 022/042 021/052 36+8311
CEEE 032/054 029/049 028/055 028/055 028/ 29333311111
ORO WEE /048 034/060 034/063 36+5102
CEEE 041/056 039/059 037/062 037/062 037/ 29333311111
GRV JEE /040 029/052 029/058 36+6102
CEEE 035/053 033/055 032/058 032/058 032/ 29333311111
SMN OEE /045 029/050 027/056 3676301
CEEE 035/058 033/055 033/061 033/061 033/ 29333311111The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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, May 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: 5296565, 5296566, 5296567, 5296568, 5296569.