Montana, 2004

Blizzard in Montana, February 10 to 11, 2004

February 10 to 11, 2004 · NWS GGW · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

A blizzard affected most of northeast Montana, beginning during the late morning and early afternoon hours on the 10th. Strong low pressure dropped south out of Saskatchewan and into central North Dakota during the afternoon and evening.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 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
3
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
15

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 GGW wrote it up.

A blizzard affected most of northeast Montana, beginning during the late morning and early afternoon hours on the 10th. Strong low pressure dropped south out of Saskatchewan and into central North Dakota during the afternoon and evening. A strong cold front associated with the low swept across all of northeast Montana during the afternoon. Northwest winds increased to 30 to 50 mph with many areas reporting frequent gusts to 60 mph. A peak wind gust of 77 mph was reported in Glendive during the afternoon. Periods of snow fell during the afternoon and night. Most of the snow that fell was light and snow accumulations were generally on the order of a couple of inches. The strong wind produced severe blowing and drifting snow, and there were numerous reports of whiteout conditions with the visibility reduced to near zero. By the evening of the 10th, all roads across northeast Montana were either closed, or open to emergency travel only. All roads connecting northeast Montana with North Dakota were closed at one time or another, including Interstate 94. Many towns across northeast Montana were isolated during the afternoon and night time hours due to the road closures. At least a dozen people were stranded and had to be rescued by state and county road crews, who had to travel in near zero visibility. Some wind gusts across northeast Montana included:Glendive: 77 mphBloomfield: 72 mphZortman: 63 mphWolf Point: 60 mphPlentywood: 60 mphGlasgow: 54 mphPolplar: 54 mphMalta: 50 mph

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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 9, 8:23 PM MST, 15 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 8:23 PM MST, 15 hours 37 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
823 PM MST MON FEB 9 2004

.SHORT TERM...

UPDATES PLANNED.

SURFACE HIGH COVERS EASTERN MONTANA THIS EVENING. AN AREA OF LOWER
CLOUDS EXTENDS FROM NORTHERN VALLEY COUNTY SOUTHEAST TO WIBAUX
COUNTY WITH CEILINGS UNDER 2000 FEET.  HIGH CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH A
STRONG SHORTWAVE IN CENTRAL SASKATCHEWAN ARE ALREADY WORKING INTO
THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE CWA. EXPECT THESE CLOUDS TO PUSH ACROSS
THE AREA DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AS THE SHORTWAVE WORKS SOUTH
TO NEAR REGINA BY MORNING. THE CLOSEST REPORTS OF ANY SNOW ARE UP
ACROSS CENTRAL SASKATCHEWAN...AND WILL UPDATE THE GRIDS TO REMOVE
POPS FOR TONIGHT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR NORTHERN MOST ZONES.
TEMPERATURES HAVE DROPPED BELOW FORECAST LOWS IN A FEW SPOTS...BUT
THE COMBINATION OF WARM ADVECTION...CLOUDS...AND SOME MIXING TOWARD
MORNING SHOULD CAUSE TEMPERATURES TO SLOWLY RISE AFTER MIDNIGHT.
PLAN ON UPDATING THE TEMPERATURE GRIDS TO REFLECT EVENING LOWS WITH
TEMPERATURES SLOWLY RISING OVERNIGHT. CB

.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...
MINOR CHANGES MADE TO CURRENT FORECAST THROUGH FIRST HALF OF THIS
PERIOD. MODELS IN CLOSE AGREEMENT WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
WITH HIGHLY AMPLIFIED UPPER FLOW PATTERN...PARKING A VERY SLOWLY
PROGRESSIVE UPPER RIDGE OVER FAR WESTERN CONUS...AND A POLAR VORTEX
CARVING OUT A DEEP TROUGH OVER HUDSON BAY INTO EASTERN CANADA.
FAIR...TRANQUIL...AND RELATIVELY MILD WEATHER EXPECTED THROUGH
SATURDAY AS NORTHEAST MONTANA REMAINS DOMINATED BY INFLUENCE OF
PACIFIC HIGH PRESSURE LOCATED OVER NORTHERN UTAH UNDER UPPER RIDGE.

SUNDAY AND MONDAY...FORECAST BECOMES MORE PROBLEMATIC AS TIMING
DIFFERENCES IN MODELS BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED. ARCTIC BOUNDARY...
LINGERING OVER DAKOTAS AND MANITOBA THROUGH FIRST HALF OF PERIOD...
DEPICTED IN MODELS WAVERING WESTWARD TOWARD MONTANA SUNDAY AND
MONDAY. CONFIDENCE IN MODEL SOLUTION BELOW AVERAGE FOR THIS
SCENARIO. HAVE ADJUSTED TIMING OF PRECIPITATION TO SLOW CHANCE OF
SNOW UNTIL DAY SUNDAY RATHER THAN SATURDAY NIGHT. NOT CONFIDENT WITH
THIS CHANGE...WOULD PREFER BROADBRUSH APPROACH...BUT HAVE ADJUSTED
FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES. CURRENT THINKING KEEPS CWA ON BORDER ZONE
OF ARCTIC INTRUSION...HENCE HAVE LIMITED COOLING...MAINLY ACROSS
NORTHEAST HALF OF CWA. THIS PATTERN FOR SUNDAY/MONDAY SIMILAR TO
PATTERN OBSERVED IN MID-JANUARY...WHEN FRONT OSCILLATED ACROSS
EASTERN ZONES WITH WIDELY VARYING DAY-TO-DAY TEMPERATURES. HENCE...
FORECAST IS A COMPROMISE THAT LIKELY WILL BE SUBJECT TO GREATER THAN
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE/WEATHER ERRORS. DNS

&&

.KGGW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ALL ZONES TUE AND TUE NIGHT.
PLEASE SEE WWUS85 KGGW OR GTFSPSGGW FOR MORE DETAILS.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 10, 10:25 AM MST, 1 hour 35 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT
1025 AM MST TUE FEB 10 2004

MTZ016>027-059>062-111303-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY COUNTY-
DANIELS-DAWSON-EAST ROOSEVELT-GARFIELD-MCCONE-NORTH VALLEY-
NORTHERN PHILLIPS-PETROLEUM-PRAIRIE-RICHLAND-SHERIDAN-
SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS-WESTERN ROOSEVELT COUNTY-WIBAUX-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CIRCLE...CULBERTSON...GLASGOW...GLENDIVE...
JORDAN...MALTA...OPHEIM...PLENTYWOOD...SCOBEY...SIDNEY...TERRY...
WHITEWATER...WIBAUX...WINNETT...WOLF POINT AND ZORTMAN
1025 AM MST TUE FEB 10 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA

.DAY ONE...

A BLIZZARD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF NORTHEAST MONTANA FOR
TODAY AND TONIGHT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BLOWING SNOW IS IN
EFFECT FOR PETROLEUM COUNTY. NORTH WIND OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO 50 MPH WILL PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW TODAY
AND TONIGHT. VISIBILITIES BELOW A QUARTER OF A MILE ARE EXPECTED
ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. REFER TO GTFWSWGGW OR WWUS45 KGGW FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.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

15 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Central and Se Phillips

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 4:00 AM MST
Where
Central and Se Phillips forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Central and Southern Valley

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Daniels

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Daniels forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Dawson

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Dawson forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Eastern Roosevelt

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Eastern Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Garfield

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 4:00 AM MST
Where
Garfield forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.278, -106.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Little Rocky Mountains

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 4:00 AM MST
Where
Little Rocky Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, McCone

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 6:00 AM MST
Where
McCone forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.645, -105.795 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Northern Phillips

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 3:00 AM MST
Where
Northern Phillips forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Northern Valley

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Northern Valley forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Petroleum

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 5:00 AM MST
Where
Petroleum forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.118, -108.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Prairie

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Prairie forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.861, -105.378 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Richland

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 9:00 AM MST
Where
Richland forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Sheridan

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.721, -104.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Western Roosevelt

When
February 10, 12:00 PM MST to February 11, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Western Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.295, -105.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Blizzard
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2004

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: 5382983, 5382984, 5382985, 5382986, 5382987, 5382988, 5382989, 5382990, 5382991, 5382992, 5382993, 5382994, 5382995, 5382996, 5382997.