Prefrontal winds were channeled through east to west oriented canyons leading into the Bitterroot Valley. Winds were reported as high as 60 mph with many reports of downed trees and power outages.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
Prefrontal winds were channeled through east to west oriented canyons leading into the Bitterroot Valley. Winds were reported as high as 60 mph with many reports of downed trees and power outages. In Hamilton, three large spruce trees fell onto and damaged a homeowners carport. At the Ravalli County Museum, a flagpole on top of the building was snapped in half, sending the steel pipe through the roof of the museum, creating a large hole.
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 Dec 19, 2:30 PM MST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
230 PM MST SUN DEC 19 2004
.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. COLD FRONT ALREADY
BEGINNING TO ENTER NORTHWEST MONTANA. THIS FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH
THE NORTHERN ROCKIES TONIGHT. SNOWFALL STILL LOOKS TO BE THE HEAVIEST
ABOVE 4K FEET IN THE WEST GLACIER REGION AS WELL AS THE MOUNTAINS OF
CENTRAL IDAHO AND EXTREME WESTERN MONTANA. WINDS WILL BE GUSTY WITH
A TIGHTENED GRADIENT...UNSTABLE CONDITIONS...AND A JET OVERHEAD SO
WILL KEEP THE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORIES UP. MONDAY THE SNOW
LOOKS TO TAPER OFF IN THE MORNING...HOWEVER MODELS ARE HINTING AT
CONTINUED SHOWERY PRECIPITATION. WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED FOR A
POTENTIAL EXTENSION. MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY INSTABILITY REMAINS...
MAKING FOR SNOW SHOWERS AND EVEN POTENTIALLY SOME SNOW BANDING.
.LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...ON TUESDAY NIGHT A
DISTURBANCE MOVES OUT OF THE REGION AND WILL BE BACKING OFF THE
CHANCE OF PRECIP FROM THE NORTHWEST...WITH POPS TRENDING DOWN
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. BY THURSDAY THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE HAS
STRENGTHENED ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST WITH A DRIER AND COLDER
NORTHERLY UPPER LEVEL FLOW INTO THE REGION. MODELS HAVE SLOWED DOWN
THE PROGRESS OF THE NEXT SYSTEM IN THE GULF OF ALASKA FROM THURSDAY
TO NOW LATE FRIDAY. SO WILL HOLD ON TO DRY CONDITIONS UNTIL SATURDAY
WHEN THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL AND COULD SEE SOME
MAINLY MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS IN THE NORTH.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY MTZ004-MTZ006 ABOVE 4000 FEET
TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.
...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY MTZ002 ABOVE 4000 FEET TONIGHT
THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.
ID...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IDZ005-IDZ006 ABOVE 4000 FEET
TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.
&&
SHORT TERM/GILCHRIST
LONG TERM/KOLATAHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 438 AM MST (338 AM PST) SUN DEC 19 2004 MTZ002-200100- WEST GLACIER REGION- 438 AM MST SUN DEC 19 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW IS EXPECTED AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS BEGINNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON. IN ADDITION...BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS A CONCERN AS WESTERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO PICK UP. THEREFORE...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW ALONG WITH HIGH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR MORE DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ005-006-MTZ004-006-200100- NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS- LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS- 438 AM MST (338 AM PST) SUN DEC 19 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TODAY LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW IS EXPECTED AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS TONIGHT. THEREFORE...SNOW ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED TONIGHT FOR HIGHER ELEVATIONS. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR MORE DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 2004
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: 5430388.