Montana, 2003

Winter Storm in Montana, March 5 to 8, 2003

March 5 to 8, 2003 · NWS MSO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A long duration winter storm impacted a large portion of western Montana from March 5 through March 8. Pacific storm systems marched inland during the week as an Arctic cold front waffled back and forth along the Continental Divide, resulting in moist air overrunning cold air, and bouts of gusty winds that created poor visibilities and blowing or drifting snow.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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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 MSO wrote it up.

A long duration winter storm impacted a large portion of western Montana from March 5 through March 8. Pacific storm systems marched inland during the week as an Arctic cold front waffled back and forth along the Continental Divide, resulting in moist air overrunning cold air, and bouts of gusty winds that created poor visibilities and blowing or drifting snow. The Department of Transportation declared emergency travel for different highways due to poor driving conditions during each day of the event. Storm totals during the 4 days ranged from many inches in valley locations to several feet in the mountains; 10-15 inches in the Kootenai Region, 1-3 feet West Glacier Region with the exception of 52 inches, or more than 4 feet, at Marias Pass, 1-2 feet Lower Clark Fork Region, 2-4 feet at higher elevations of the Bitterroot and Pintlar Mountains and the Blackfoot Region, up to 16 inches in the Bitterroot Valley.

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, 4:00 AM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 4:00 AM MST, 3 hours before
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
400 AM MST WED MAR 5 2003

.SHORT TERM...VERY ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN IN STORE FOR WESTERN
MONTANA/CENTRAL IDAHO FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. CURRENTLY A 120KT
JET BEGINNING TO NOSE INTO NORTHWEST MONTANA. ASSOCIATED AREA OF
INFRARED ENHANCEMENT SHOWING UP NICELY ON SATELLITE. NORTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT AND GOOD DYNAMICS WILL COMBINE TO MAKE FOR A SIGNIFICANT
SNOW EVENT. GOOD INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL ALLOW
SNOW BANDS TO SET UP OVER THE AREA...ADDING TO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.
CURRENT FORECAST HAS THIS PATTERN HANDLED WELL...WILL MAKE ONLY MINOR
TWEAKS. MODELS STILL WANT TO BRING IN PUSH OF ARCTIC AIR THURSDAY
MORNING TO THE GLACIER PARK AREA. NUMEROUS HIGHLIGHTS ARE OUT ACROSS
THE AREA...SEE BELOW...WILL KEEP ALL OF THESE GOING. CHANGES TO
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE...UPGRADING IDZ009 AND MT007 TO WARNINGS AND
ISSUING A WARNING FOR IDZ007-008 ABOVE 3000 FEET. WILL ALSO UPGRADE
ADVISORY/WATCH FOR MTZ005 TO A WARNING CONSIDERING FAVORABLE
NORTHWEST FLOW AND GOOD DYNAMICS OVER THE AREA. GILCHRIST

.LONG TERM...UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH THE EXTENDED. THE
EUROPEAN HAS DONE A MAJOR SHIFT FROM YESTERDAYS RIDGE BUILDING OVER
THE AREA LATE IN THE EXTENDED TO A RETURN TO MOIST WESTERLY FLOW.
HAVE MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE EXTENDED GRIDS FOR THIS CHANGE AND TO
MATCH UP WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE
A CHALLENGE THROUGH THE EXTENDED AS ARCTIC BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO
HOVER OVER THE CANADIAN BORDER. CURRENT TEMPERATURES LOOK GOOD AND
MADE NO MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS. MEAD

.MSO...WINTER STORM WARNINGS FOR MTZ002-003-005-006-043 TODAY THROUGH
       THURSDAY...
    ...WINTER STORM WARNINGS ABOVE 3000 FEET FOR MTZ001-004
       AND IDZ005-006 TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
    ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES BELOW 3000 FEET FOR MTZ001-004
       TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY...
    ...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY FOR IDZ009-
       MTZ007...
    ...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 3000 FEET TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
       IDZ007-008...

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB SSS /037 025/034 021/030 3397788
     SEBB 015/024 013/024 013/026 016/030 016/ 27586444335
FCA SSS /034 020/033 017/027 3398888
     SEEE 011/022 011/022 011/024 013/028 013/ 27576444335
POL SSS /037 023/034 023/031 3388888
     SEEE 015/026 015/026 015/028 017/032 017/ 27676444335
MSO SSS /036 024/034 024/032 3388888
     SEEE 015/027 016/027 016/029 020/033 020/ 27875544335
HMM SSS /034 023/035 024/033 3388888
     SSEE 017/028 017/028 017/030 021/033 021/ 27875544335
BTM SSS /029 017/033 016/031 3377777
     SEEE 010/025 000/025 000/027 013/030 013/ 27565544335
ORO RRR /050 035/051 033/043 3377777
     REBB 033/044 028/044 028/044 027/048 027/ 27775544335
GRV SSS /041 030/042 028/038 3377788
     SOEE 028/040 024/040 024/040 023/043 023/ 27875544335
SMN SSS /039 023/042 021/037 3355566
     SEEE 016/031 017/031 017/033 016/037 016/ 27664444332
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 5, 4:45 AM MST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-061300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
445 AM MST WED MAR 5 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO

.DAY ONE... TODAY

THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF STORMS WILL MOVE INTO NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO
AND WESTERN MONTANA TODAY. AREAS OF HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS WILL
ACCOMPANY THIS STORM SYSTEM TODAY INTO TONIGHT. THEREFORE NUMEROUS
WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO
AND WESTERN MONTANA. SEE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE GTFWSWMSO FOR
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A SERIES OF MAJOR WINTER STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE REGION...
PRODUCING PERIODS OF HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW POSSIBLY THROUGH SUNDAY.  1
TO 2 FEET OF NEW SNOW IS POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL IDAHO
AND NORTHWEST MONTANA BY THURSDAY. THE VALLEYS OF WESTERN MONTANA MAY
ALSO SEE SIGNIFICANT SNOW. REFER TO THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
GTFWSWMSO FOR CURRENT WINTER STORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT. THESE STORMS
HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING NEAR RECORD MARCH SNOWS IN SOME
AREAS. PLEASE TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS TO PREPARE FOR THIS PROLONGED
PERIOD OF HAZARDOUS WINTER CONDITIONS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Kootenai/Cabinet Region

When
March 5, 7:00 AM MST to March 8, 5:00 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)

Winter Storm, West Glacier Region

When
March 5, 7:00 AM MST to March 8, 5:00 PM 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)

Winter Storm, Lower Clark Fork Region

When
March 5, 12:00 PM MST to March 8, 5:00 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)

Winter Storm, Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains

When
March 5, 12:00 PM MST to March 8, 5:00 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)

Winter Storm, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys

When
March 6, 10:00 PM MST to March 8, 5:00 PM MST
Where
Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
46.560, -114.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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, March 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: 5346799, 5346800, 5346801, 5346802, 5346803.