Montana, 2003

Winter Storm in Montana, February 1, 2003

February 1, 2003 · NWS TFX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Heavy snow fell over the Rocky Mountain Front during the early morning hours of the 1st. Here is a list of some of the snowfall totals received:12 inches at Choteau 30W; 8 inches at Lincoln 10N; 6 to 8 inches at St.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 TFX wrote it up.

Heavy snow fell over the Rocky Mountain Front during the early morning hours of the 1st. The snow let up in intensity over the northern portion of the Rocky Mountain Front during the mid morning hours, and then came to an end over Southwest Montana during the late afternoon hours.Here is a list of some of the snowfall totals received:12 inches at Choteau 30W; 8 inches at Lincoln 10N; 6 to 8 inches at St. Mary's 10W (SNOTEL); 6 inches at Alder 20SE (SNOTEL) and West Yellowstone 15NW (SNOTEL).

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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 8:45 PM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 8:45 PM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
845 PM MST FRI JAN 31 2003

.SHORT TERM...WILL UPDATE TO DUE TO LESS WIND ACROSS GTF
ZONES. BUT NOT RECEIVING DATA DUE TO COMPUTER PROBLEMS.
THOUGH STILL GETTING SATELLITE IMAGERY. A VERY MOIST WESTERLY
FLOW ALOFT AS UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE OFF PACIFIC COAST
MOVES EAST. A BROAD UPPER LEVEL RIDGE REMAINS OVER AREA.
DOWNSLOPE FLOW CONTINUES ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MT...THUS
LIMITING PRECIPITATION. CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD.
WILLIAMSON DC

.EXTENDED...NORTHERLY FLOW CONTROLS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. WITH SOME
MOISTURE IN THIS FLOW ON TUESDAY CANNOT RULE OUT POSSIBLILITY OF
SNOW. WARM FRONT SWEEPS DOWN FROM THE NORTH WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF UPPER
LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE THAT WILL BRING A DRY AIR MASS AND TEMPERATURES
NEAR AVERAGE ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. POMEROY

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF CC 037/046 022/032 012 04322
    CEEBB 026/010 022/008 026/016 028/013 032 22223000000
CTB EC 034/042 018/028 008 04112
    CEEBB 022/006 024/003 032/006 030/013 031 22223000000
HLN CC 037/047 025/035 015 04541
    CEEBB 027/012 025/011 027/012 029/012 034 21223000000
BZN OC 036/045 021/032 011 04463
    CEEBB 028/009 024/007 025/003 026/008 030 32223200000
WEY SC 030/035 012/022 901 04896
    CCEBB 017/905 020/905 020/901 023/002 025 43323300000
DLN OC 035/045 020/032 010 04462
    CEEBB 029/010 027/009 027/009 029/012 032 32222200000
HVR EC 034/045 018/029 006 04112
    EEEBB 020/004 020/002 026/008 030/013 030 21122000000
LWT CC 033/044 021/029 010 04222
    CEEBB 025/009 021/007 026/013 033/016 032 22223000000

TFX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING ABOVE
      6000 FEET ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT (ZONES 9 AND 48)
      WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY ABOVE 7000 FEET
      A PORTION OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA (ZONES 8/14/15/52/55)
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 3:45 PM MST, 8 hours 15 minutes before
MTZ008>015-044>055-010110-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
345 PM MST FRI JAN 31 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT ABOVE 6000 FEET OVER THE ROCKY
MOUNTAIN FRONT...
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN
FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT

...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT ABOVE 7000 FEET OVER A PORTION OF
SOUTHWEST MONTANA
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: SOUTHERN LEWIS AND
CLARK-JEFFERSON-BEAVERHEAD-MADISON-GALLATIN

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

...WINTER STORM WARNING SATURDAY MORNING ABOVE 6000 FEET OVER THE
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN
FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT

...WINTER STORM WARNING SATURDAY ABOVE 7000 FEET OVER A PORTION OF
SOUTHWEST MONTANA...
FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: SOUTHERN LEWIS AND
CLARK-JEFFERSON-BEAVERHEAD-MADISON-GALLATIN

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, North Rocky Mountain Front

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where
North Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Southern Rocky Mountain Front

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Rocky Mountain Front forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Southern Lewis and Clark

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Lewis and Clark forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Madison

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 AM MST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Gallatin

When
February 1, 12:00 AM MST to 6:00 AM MST
Where
Gallatin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2003

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: 5341162, 5341163, 5341579, 5341580, 5341581.