Winter Storm in Montana, February 5, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in Montana, February 5, 2003
Start: 2003-02-05T16:00
End: 2003-02-05T18:00
Location: Montana

February 5, 2003 · NWS TFX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A winter storm produced heavy snow in the mountains of Central Montana on the 5th. Here is a list of some of the snowfall totals received:14 inches at Neihart 10S; 10 inches at White Sulphur Springs 32NW; 8 inches at Lewistown 22S; and 6 inches at Utica 20SW.

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.

A winter storm produced heavy snow in the mountains of Central Montana on the 5th. The heaviest snow fell in the mountain areas above 5000 feet, over the Little and Big Belt Mountains, and the Big Snowy Mountains.Here is a list of some of the snowfall totals received:14 inches at Neihart 10S; 10 inches at White Sulphur Springs 32NW; 8 inches at Lewistown 22S; and 6 inches at Utica 20SW.

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 5, 2:15 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 2:15 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

SOUTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
215 PM MST WED FEB 5 2003

CORRECTED CCF NUMBERS

.SHORT TERM...SNOW EVENT STARTING TO WIND DOWN ACROSS MOST OF THE
AREA THIS AFTERNOON. BASE OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING SOUTHWARD
THROUGH WESTERN MONTANA...WITH CLOUD TOPS WARMING OVER CENTRAL
MONTANA AND AREA OF ENHANCEMENT MOVING SOUTH. UPSLOPE FLOW WILL
CONTINUE TO PRODUCE AREAS LIGHT SNOW THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN ZONES...AND QUICKLY TAPER OFF FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THIS
EVENING. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE AND DRIER AIR WILL BE MOVING SOUTH OUT
OF ALBERTA TONIGHT. SOME CLEARING WILL OCCUR FROM GREAT FALLS
NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT. WILL ALLOW ALL WINTER HIGHLIGHTS TO EXPIRE
THIS EVENING. UPPER LEVEL FOLD-OVER RIDGE WORKS ITS WAY INTO MONTANA
OVERNIGHT...AND SUBSIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RIDGE WILL KEEP US
DRY THURSDAY. WENT BELOW GUIDANCE FOR HIGH TEMPS THURSDAY WITH A
FRESH SNOW COVER IN MANY AREAS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TO DOMINATE WEATHER
THROUGH FRIDAY...WITH DOWNSLOPE WINDS DEVELOPING THURSDAY NIGHT.
FRIDAY...TEMPS WILL BE WARMER WITH COMPRESSIONAL WARMING ASSOCIATED
WITH DOWNSLOPE. NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT INCREASES BY SATURDAY AS A
STRONG 300MB JET MOVES INTO EASTERN MONTANA. A FEW IMPULSES DIVING
SOUTH FROM CANADA MAY CLIP EASTERN ZONES SATURDAY...SO WILL GO WITH
SLIGHT CHANCE POPS THERE AND DRY ELSEWHERE. VILLANI

.EXTENDED...MODELS CONTINUE TO BE IN AGREEMENT WITH GOOD RUN TO RUN
CONSISTENCY. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA
THROUGH MONDAY...MOVES INLAND OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA ON TUESDAY...AND
BREAKS DOWN BY WEDNESDAY. FLOW ALOFT OVER MONTANA BACKS FROM THE
NORTH TO THE NORTHWEST ON SUNDAY AND REMAINS NORTHWESTERLY UNTIL THE
WEAK REMNANT OF THE UPPER RIDGE MOVES OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES ON
WEDNESDAY. A STRONG IMPULSE IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW MOVES OVER
NORTHEAST MONTANA SUNDAY NIGHT...FOR AN INCREASED CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION IN MY EASTERN ZONES. FORECAST REMAINS DRY FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD...WITH CLEARING SKIES AND WARMER
TEMPERATURES AS WEAK RIDGING MOVES OVER THE STATE ON WEDNESDAY. MPJ

.CCF NUMBERS
GTF EB 006/026 017/035 020 16200
    EEEEE 036/022 044/024 040/021 039/019 038 00000220000
CTB EB 005/024 017/035 022 16200
    EEEEE 038/020 043/026 038/020 037/018 038 00000220000
HLN EB 010/025 007/035 017 16300
    EEEEE 036/018 038/021 038/018 037/016 038 00000000000
BZN EB 004/020 904/025 007 16600
    EEEEE 029/011 033/016 034/012 034/011 037 00000000000
WEY EB 912/014 920/017 909 16700
    EEEEE 020/006 028/006 029/006 029/004 030 00000000000
DLN EB 006/021 902/027 009 16400
    EEEEE 030/015 035/020 035/017 035/015 038 00000000000
HVR BB 003/023 012/033 019 16200
    EEEEE 033/018 039/021 037/017 035/015 035 02222330000
LWT EB 004/023 014/033 018 16300
    EEEEE 034/018 038/021 036/021 037/019 038 02200330000

TFX...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 5, 6:10 AM MST, 9 hours 50 minutes before

MTZ008>015-044>055-060110-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
610 AM MST WED FEB 5 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET CONTINUES FOR
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: CASCADE-FERGUS-MEAGHER-JUDITH BASIN
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW BELOW 5000 FEET CONTINUES FOR
THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: FERGUS-JUDITH BASIN

SNOW LIKELY TODAY. SNOW WILL BE HEAVIER IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGHER
TERRAINS. A WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 5000 FEET AND A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW BELOW 5000 FEET ARE IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS
OF CENTRAL MONTANA. REFER TO GTFWSWTFX FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 5, 1:00 PM MST, 3 hours before

LOCAL STORM REPORT...PRELIMINARY REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
100 PM MST WED FEB 5 2003

TIME(MST)  .....EVENT  LOCATION..... ST   ...EVENT/REMARKS...........
           .....COUNTY LOCATION.....

0830 AM    22 S LEWISTOWN            MT   HEAVY SNOW
02/05/03   FERGUS                         8 INCHES IN 24 HOURS

1230 PM    HOBSON                    MT   SNOW
02/05/03   JUDITH  BASIN                  4 INCHES IN 24 HOURS

NNNN

Event by event

4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cascade

When: February 5, 4:00 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Cascade forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Judith Basin

When: February 5, 4:00 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Judith Basin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Fergus

When: February 5, 4:00 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Fergus forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Meagher

When: February 5, 4:00 PM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Meagher 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

Every storm in Montana in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5341582, 5341583, 5341584, 5341585.