Winter Storm in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2004

Name: Winter Storm in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2004
Start: 2004-01-01T08:00
End: 2004-01-02T08:00
Location: Montana

January 1 to 2, 2004 · NWS MSO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

An arctic cold front passed through northwest Montana producing widespread heavy snow and strong gusty northeast winds. Storm total snowfall ranged from 6 to 8 inches with higher amounts in the favored upslope areas, such as 12 to 16 inches from Plains to Elmo; 14 inches at Noxon; 10 inches at Polson, Big Fork and Seeley Lake; and 16 inches at Blacktail Ski Area.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

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 Jan 1, 2:00 AM MST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 2:00 AM MST, 6 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
200 AM MST THU JAN 1 2004

.SHORT TERM...THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF WEATHER DISTURBANCES WILL
BEGIN TO MOVE THROUGH THE REGION BY MIDDAY. THE GFS MODEL HAS
INITIALIZED THE BEST THUS WILL FOLLOW THIS SOLUTION. IT IS
ACTUALLY THE FASTER OF THE MODEL SOLUTIONS.  A LOT OF MOISTURE IS
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM...WITH THE MAJORITY OF ENERGY AND
PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
NEVERTHELESS THERE WILL BE ENOUGH SNOWFALL IN CENTRAL IDAHO TO
PRODUCE WINTER STORM WARNING CRITERIA THROUGH LATE FRIDAY MORNING. A
SECONDARY UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS
EVENING IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF IDAHO AND NORTHWEST MONTANA TO
PRODUCE HEAVY SNOWS THERE...THUS THE WINTER STORM WARNING IN THE
NORTHERN ZONES WILL CONTINUE. AT THIS TIME IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT
HEAVY SNOW WILL OCCUR IN THE BITTERROOT/MISSOULA VALLEYS OR IN THE
BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION...BUT IT APPEARS SNOWS WILL BE SUFFICIENT...2 TO
5 INCHES DURING TODAY AND TONIGHT...TO WARRANT A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY.

.LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY) STAYING WITH THE GFS
MODEL...CONSIDERING HOW WELL IT HAS DONE RECENTLY. ALSO OTHER MODELS
ARE STARTING TO FALL IN LINE WITH THE GFS SOLUTION. POLAR VORTEX IN
NORTHERN CANADA ROTATING WAVES INTO NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND
WESTERN MONTANA FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. COLD ARCTIC AIR MOVES
ACROSS THE DIVIDE ON SATURDAY AS ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE COMES DOWN
INTO CENTRAL MONTANA FROM CANADA. POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR A SIGNIFICANT
SNOW STORM WITH THE CLASSIC ARCTIC IMPACTS THROUGH SUNDAY. WILL
LIKELY HAVE GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS AND DANGEROUS WIND CHILL
TEMPERATURES LINGERING THROUGH MONDAY AS THE ARCTIC AIR BECOMES
DEEPER ACROSS THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF WIND
SHELTERING AND CLEARING SKIES...TEMPERATURES COULD BE COLDEST OF THE
NEW YEAR ON MONDAY NIGHT GIVEN MODEL PREDICTION OF -20 TO -25 DEGREE
C AT 850MB. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER PAC SYSTEM TO MOVE ASHORE
EITHER LATE TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY. THIS COULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL
OVERRUNNING MOISTURE OVER THE COLD ARCTIC AIR ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE
AREA THEN. WILL SLOWLY MODERATE TEMPERATURES BY WEDNESDAY.
&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MTZ001>004-043 FROM THIS AFTERNOON
     THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...
  ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MTZ006 FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
     NOON FRIDAY...
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW FOR MTZ005-007 FROM THIS
     AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

ID...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR IDZ005 FROM THIS AFTERNOON
     THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...
  ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR IDZ006 FROM NOON TODAY THROUGH
     NOON FRIDAY...
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW FOR IDZ007-008 FROM THIS
     AFTERNOON THROUGH NOON FRIDAY...
  ...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 5500 FEET FOR IDZ009-010 FROM NOON
     TODAY THROUGH NOON FRIDAY...
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BELOW 5500 FEET FOR IDZ009-010 FROM
     NOON TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING...

&&

SHORT TERM/RPN
LONG TERM/KOLATA

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 1, 6:00 AM MST, 2 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
600 AM MST (500 AM PST) THU JAN 1 2004

IDZ005>010-MTZ001>007-043-021300-
NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-
OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER-
WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY-KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-
WEST GLACIER REGION-FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS-LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-
MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-
BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION-
600 AM MST (500 AM PST) THU JAN 1 2004

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

NUMEROUS WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN
EFFECT. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT
UNTIL MIDDAY FRIDAY. SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS.

AN ARCTIC AIR MASS WILL BE SLOWLY DROPPING SOUTHWARD FROM CANADA OVER
THE WEEKEND. THE ARCTIC COLD FRONT MAY BEGIN TO PUSH ACROSS THE
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO NORTHWEST MONTANA AND ACROSS
THE REMAINDER OF WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO ON SUNDAY.
ALTHOUGH THE TIMING IS IN QUESTION...ARCTIC AIR WILL EVENTUALLY MOVE
INTO THE AREA BRINGING GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS AND FALLING TEMPERATURES
AND WIND CHILLS BELOW ZERO.  CHECK THE FORECAST FOR THE LATEST
INFORMATION ON THIS DEVELOPING ARCTIC STORM SYSTEM...ESPECIALLY IF
YOU PLAN ON TRAVELING ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA OR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO
THIS WEEKEND.

.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: January 1, 8:00 AM MST to January 2, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, West Glacier Region

When: January 1, 8:00 AM MST to January 2, 8:00 AM MST
Where: West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When: January 1, 8:00 AM MST to January 2, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lower Clark Fork Region

When: January 1, 8:00 AM MST to January 2, 8:00 AM 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, Blackfoot Region

When: January 1, 8:00 AM MST to January 2, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Blackfoot Region forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.986, -113.597 (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

Every storm in Montana in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, January 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5382133, 5382134, 5382135, 5382136, 5382137.