Montana, 2003

Cold in Montana, February 24, 2003

February 24, 2003 · NWS TFX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

After 5 days of temperatures near 40 degrees, an arctic cold front pushed south through Montana on the 22nd. Skies were cloudy across the region, along with areas of snow on the 23rd.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

After 5 days of temperatures near 40 degrees, an arctic cold front pushed south through Montana on the 22nd. Skies were cloudy across the region, along with areas of snow on the 23rd. By late evening on the 23rd, skies cleared, and temperatures began to fall quickly. By the mid morning hours on the 24th the air temperatures over Southwest Montana ranged from -40 F to nearly -50 F, while temperatures ranged from -30 F to nearly -40 F over North Central Montana.Here is a list of some of the morning low temperatures received:-49 F at Wisdom; -45 F at West Yellowstone; -38 F at Chinook; -35 F at Belgrade; and -31 F at Havre. All of these temperatures were new daily record lows for each of these cities.Additionally, the -49 F at Wisdom was the 4th coldest temperature ever for the month of February, and the 12th coldest temperature of all time.In West Yellowstone, the -45 F was the 15th coldest ever for the month of February.

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 Feb 24, 2:45 AM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:45 AM MST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
245 AM MST MON FEB 24 2003

.SHORT TERM...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE CENTER IS OVER HUDSON BAY
WHILE A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE IS OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC. THIS LEAVES
THE LOCAL AREA BENEATH NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT.  THE AIRMASS IS VERY
DRY AND COLD...MOISTURE WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE FROM THE NORTH...
MOVING ACROSS THE BORDER LATE TUESDAY. VAD WINDS SUGGEST BOUNDARY
ABOUT 3000 FEET THICK. NO APPRECIABLE WINDS TO HELP MOVE SURFACE
BOUNDARY EAST...ALTHOUGH A WEAK SURFACE LEE TROF IS DEVELOPING OVER
ALBERTA AND WILL CREATE SOME LIGHT WEST WINDS OVER THE CTB-GTF AREA.
WINDS WILL NOT AFFECT TEMPERATURES VERY MUCH...WILL GRADUALLY RAISE
TEMPERATURES IN LINE WITH WARMING AIRMASS...TEMPERATURES WILL
GRADUALLY RISE THRU WEDNESDAY. ZELZER

.EXTENDED...MODELS IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE EXTENDED
PERIOD. SPLIT FLOW ALOFT TO PERSIST OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH
FRIDAY. WEAK DYNAMICS WILL RESULT FROM THE SPLIT FLOW. MODELS ARE
INDICATING SOME MOISTURE OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
THEREFORE...WILL KEEP SOME SLIGHT POPS IN THE FORECAST. NORTHERN
BRANCH STARTS TO DROP SOUTH SATURDAY AS A SYSTEM PUSHES ACROSS
EASTERN MONTANA. WILL ADD A CHANCE OF SNOW FOR THE EASTERN ZONES TO
COVER THIS. A SECONDARY WAVE WILL PUSH SOUTH LATE SUNDAY RESULTING
IN ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW ALONG THE HIGH LINE. MEIER

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF UB 021/000 033/015 036 13000
    EEEEE 015/035 020/038 023/035 020/039 021 00000011111
CTB UB 022/000 032/013 032 13000
    EEEEE 015/033 020/037 023/033 020/038 024 0--00011133
HLN UB 010/910 021/002 030 13000
    EEEEE 011/034 020/039 023/036 019/037 023 00111111100
BZN UB 008/917 018/906 026 13000
    EEEEE 010/032 012/036 016/033 016/037 017 00222221100
WEY UB 006/923 012/910 020 13000
    ECEEE 000/023 005/024 009/028 012/031 014 00222221100
DLN UB 011/908 020/000 030 13000
    ECEEE 014/032 017/037 016/036 019/036 022 00222221100
HVR UB 012/912 025/005 031 13000
    EEEEE 011/030 014/037 021/033 014/035 021 01100033333
LWT UB 020/902 029/007 036 13000
    EEEEE 010/031 016/038 022/036 018/037 021 00000033333

TFX...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 24, 6:10 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes before
MTZ008>015-044>055-250110-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
610 AM MST MON FEB 24 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

Event by event

4 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Beaverhead

When
February 24, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Beaverhead forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Gallatin

When
February 24, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Gallatin forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Blaine

When
February 24, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Blaine forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Hill

When
February 24, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Hill forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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: 5341586, 5341587, 5341588, 5341589.