Heavy Snow, Kootenai/Cabinet Region
- When
- March 8, 10:00 PM MST to March 9, 6:00 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)
Heavy Snow in Montana, March 8 to 9, 2003
Additional snow fell across areas of western Montana as the last storm system of the week impacted the region. Snow amounts in the period were mainly from 6 to 11 inches, including Lookout Pass, Troy, Essex, near Clinton, Ovando, Potomac, and Seeley Lake.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
Additional snow fell across areas of western Montana as the last storm system of the week impacted the region. Snow amounts in the period were mainly from 6 to 11 inches, including Lookout Pass, Troy, Essex, near Clinton, Ovando, Potomac, and Seeley Lake.
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 8, 9:00 PM MST, 1 hour earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 9:00 PM MST, 1 hour before
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
900 PM MST SAT MAR 8 2003
.SHORT TERM...UPDATE TO ZONES SOON. WIDESPREAD RAIN AND SNOW
CONTINUES ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO TONIGHT.
THE MAIN CONCERN FOR TONIGHT WILL BE THE TIMING OF THE WARM AIR
SPREADING NORTHEAST. IN AREAS OF THE CLEARWATER...WOULD EXPECT
TEMPERATURES TO REMAIN NEARLY STEADY OR INCREASE SLIGHTLY THROUGH
THE NIGHT. DO NOT THINK THE COLD AIR WILL REACH LIBBY...KALISPELL...
OR THE NORTHERN DIVIDE AREA TONIGHT. CONSIDERING THE WARM
TEMPERATURES...WILL BE CANCELING THE SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE
CLEARWATERS AND WEST CENTRAL MONTANA FROM 3K TO 4K FT. LOOKING AT THE
LATEST META...AM A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES WE
HAVE GOING ELSEWHERE. META DRIES THINGS OUT TONIGHT AND DOES NOT
START UP THE PRECIP UNTIL LATE SUNDAY MORNING. WILL BE PUSHING THE
TIMING BACK TO LATE TONIGHT OR TOMORROW.
ALREADY ISSUED AN URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR
CLEARWATER AND IDAHO COUNTIES GIVEN RISING TEMPERATURES...OCCURRING
RAIN...AND HEAVY SNOW THAT HAS ALREADY FALLEN. WILL BE UPDATING THE
ZONES TO ADJUST SPOT TEMPERATURES...READJUST WARNINGS AND
ADVISORIES...AND ADJUST POP WORDING. KOCH
.LONG TERM...EXTENDED MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH THE PERIOD.
SLIGHT RIDGING TO WESTERLY FLOW WEDNESDAY BEFORE A STRONGER RIDGE
BUILDS OVER CENTRAL MONTANA AS THE GULF OF ALASKA LOW DIGS DOWN THE
COAST THURSDAY. THIS PATTERN WILL BRING A WARMING SOUTHWEST FLOW TO
THE FORECAST AREA WITH EMBEDDED SHORT WAVES ROTATING THROUGH. MOST OF
THE ENERGY LOOKS TO BE CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS IN AND ALONG IDAHO
THROUGH THE EXTENDED. KEPT PREVIOUS FORECAST TREND OF UNDERCUTTING
MOS TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE EXTENDED GIVEN THE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF
RECENT SNOWFALL. WILL DEFINITELY HAVE TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE URBAN
FLOODING THE MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK...AS RAPID SNOW MELT CAN BE
EXPECTED. MEAD
.MSO...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 4000 FT FOR IDZ005-006 MTZ004-
006 LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...
...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 4500 FT FOR MTZ043 TONIGHT
THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW BELOW 4500 FT FOR MTZ043
TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MTZ001-002 ABOVE 4500 FT SUNDAY AND
SUNDAY NIGHT...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MTZ001-002 BELOW 4500 FEET
SUNDAY...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MTZ003 SUNDAY...
...URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR IDZ005-006
TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...
...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB OOE 018/040 031/044 030/046 37697622
EEBB 026/047 030/049 028/046 026/045 2733333333
FCA OOE 003/033 029/042 028/042 37697611
BBBB 025/043 028/046 027/042 025/044 2711222111
POL OOE 015/037 030/044 029/044 37687511
BBBB 026/044 029/048 028/045 026/045 2711222111
MSO OEB 028/040 034/046 033/045 37666421
BBBB 026/044 028/047 027/045 025/045 2711111000
HMM CEB 031/045 035/048 033/048 37555321
BBBB 027/043 029/049 028/047 026/045 2711111000
BTM SEB 023/038 027/041 024/040 37554310
BBBB 022/039 023/043 023/040 021/041 2700000000
ORO OEE 034/053 042/056 042/055 37774321
EEEE 033/055 034/054 032/052 030/049 2732333333
GRV OEE 030/046 037/049 036/048 37664221
BBBB 032/047 034/052 034/048 032/044 2732222222
SMN OBB 033/047 032/051 031/049 37554310
BBBB 023/043 024/046 024/044 022/045 2700000000Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 8, 4:35 PM MST, 5 hours 25 minutes before
MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-091300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 435 PM MST SAT MAR 8 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO .DAY ONE... TONIGHT NUMEROUS WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT FOR MAINLY HEAVY SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. SEE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS. IN ADDITION...URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IN NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO. SEE FLOOD STATEMENT GTFFLSMSO FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT THE REGION SUNDAY...PRODUCING PERIODS OF HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW POSSIBLY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. REFER TO THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE GTFWSWMSO FOR CURRENT WINTER STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT. 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.
Event by event
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Lower Clark Fork Region
- When
- March 8, 10:00 PM MST to March 9, 6:00 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)
Heavy Snow, Blackfoot Region
- When
- March 8, 10:00 PM MST to March 9, 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Blackfoot Region forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.986, -113.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Minnesota, March 8 to 9, 2003
- Cold in North Dakota, March 8 to 9, 2003
- Strong Wind in Ohio, March 8, 2003
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, March 8, 2003
- Strong Wind in Ohio, March 8, 2003
- Cold in North Dakota, March 8, 2003
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, March 8, 2003
- High Wind in West Virginia, March 8, 2003
- High Wind in Oregon, March 8 to 9, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 8, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 8 to 9, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Washington, March 8 to 9, 2003
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: 5346804, 5346805, 5346806.