Heavy Snow, West Glacier Region
- When
- January 27, 6:00 PM MST to January 28, 8:00 AM MST
- Where
- West Glacier Region forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Avalanche and Heavy Snow in Montana, January 27 to 29, 2004
Heavy snowfall continued along and near the Continental Divide as an arctic frontal boundary remained stationary over the area. 24 hour storm total snowfall reports were 6 inches at Seeley Lake, 15 inches at West Glacier, 16 inches at Marias Pass and 42 inches at Noisy Basin.
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.
Heavy snowfall continued along and near the Continental Divide as an arctic frontal boundary remained stationary over the area. 24 hour storm total snowfall reports were 6 inches at Seeley Lake, 15 inches at West Glacier, 16 inches at Marias Pass and 42 inches at Noisy Basin. The arctic frontal boundary that moved through the region on January 26th, loaded the area with up to five feet of heavy wet snow by January 28th. Wide temperature fluctuations made for an unstable snowpack in the West Glacier Region to produce eight avalanches from Essex to Marias Pass, two of which hit an east bound freight train near Essex. These two avalanches knocked 15 cars off the rails, closing the tracks used by Amtrak's Empire Builder. U.S. 2 was closed for several days as crews tried to clear the snow from the tracks and highway, and avalanche danger continued to be high.
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 27, 3:13 PM MST, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 3:13 PM MST, 2 hours 47 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
313 PM MST TUE JAN 27 2004
.SHORT TERM...ARCTIC BOUNDARY CURRENTLY SET UP FROM EUREKA TO JUST
SOUTH OF KALISPELL...AND OVER THE DIVIDE...SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
HELMVILLE AND LINCOLN. TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO DROP THIS AFTERNOON.
EASTERLY WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH...WITH 25 TO 35 MPH IN SOME AREAS ARE
CREATING NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. ROADS HAVE CLOSED FROM CROAM TO
MARIAS PASS. MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM INTO WESTERN MONTANA
THIS EVENING INTERACTING WITH THE ARCTIC BOUNDARY AND PRODUCING SNOW.
WILL CONTINUE BLIZZARD WARNINGS THROUGH 9 PM TONIGHT. NEXT WEATHER
DISTURBANCE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST COAST. THIS SYSTEM IS VERY
MOIST WITH STRONG WINDS ALOFT WHICH WILL PRODUCE SNOW ALONG THE
ARCTIC BOUNDARY AS WELL AS OROGRAPHIC SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF
WESTERN MONTANA AND THE CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS OF IDAHO. HAVE ISSUED A
WARNING FOR THESE AREAS THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. MESO ETA IS SHOWING
OVER TWO INCHES OF LIQUID PRECIP ACROSS PORTIONS OF WEST GLACIER AND
THE CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS FROM TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.
.LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY). THE GFS AND CANADIAN ARE
CONSISTENT IN DEVELOPING A BROAD TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL US WITH AS
A RIDGE DEVELOPS ALONG THE WEST COAST WITH COLD NORTHWESTERLY FLOW
ALOFT OVER WESTERN MONTANA. THIS WILL RESULT IN BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES AND SHOWERY CONDITIONS OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE
WEEKEND. THE MODELS PROGRESS THE WEST COAST RIDGE SLOWLY TO THE EAST
RESULTING IN A SLIGHT WARMING TREND AND A DECREASING TREND IN SNOW
SHOWERS EARLY NEXT WEEK.
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...BLIZZARD WARNING FOR MTZ002 THROUGH 9 PM TONIGHT...
...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 9 PM TONIGHT THROUGH 6 AM THURSDAY
FOR MTZ002...
...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 AM WEDNESDAY THROUGH 6 AM THURSDAY
FOR MTZ001-004-006...
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MTZ043 THROUGH 6 AM THURSDAY...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MTZ004 ABOVE 3500 FEET THROUGH
TONIGHT...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MTZ001 THROUGH TONIGHT...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MTZ003 THROUGH 9 PM TONIGHT...
...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR MTZ003 WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
MORNING...
ID...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW ABOVE 3500 FEET IDZ005 THROUGH
TONIGHT...
...WINTER STORM WARNING IDZ005-006 FROM 5 AM PST WEDNESDAY THROUGH
5 AM PST THURSDAY...
&&
SHORT TERM/KOCH
LONG TERM/PETRESCUHazardous weather outlook, Jan 27, 4:35 PM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 434 PM MST (334 PM PST) TUE JAN 27 2004 IDZ005-006-MTZ001>004-006-043-281300- NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS- KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-WEST GLACIER REGION-FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS- LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS- BLACKFOOT REGION- 434 PM MST (334 PM PST) TUE JAN 27 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO .DAY ONE... REST OF TODAY A BLIZZARD WARNING CONTINUES FOR GLACIER PARK THROUGH THIS EVENING. IN ADDITION...NUMEROUS WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN UPDATED AND REMAIN IN EFFECT. AN ARCTIC FRONT IS STALLED NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER. THIS BOUNDARY POSES THE MOST SERIOUS WEATHER THREAT TONIGHT. HOWEVER...OTHER AREAS WILL ALSO SEE WINTER WEATHER. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR LATEST DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY WINTER STORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN MONTANA AND CENTRAL IDAHO. PLEASE SEE GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS. FINALLY...IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT MORE OF THESE WINTER HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE ISSUED THROUGH THE WEEK...AS STRONG PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEMS ENTER THE REGION. WARMER AIR WILL ENTER NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO ON THURSDAY WITH HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. RAIN ON TOP OF ALREADY HEAVY SNOW PACK MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING THROUGH THURSDAY. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE FORECAST AND GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ007>010-MTZ005-007-281300- OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER- WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY- MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS-BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION- 434 PM MST (334 PM PST) TUE JAN 27 2004 .DAY ONE... REST OF TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW IS OCCURRING OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING BUT NO SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. .DAY TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...A STRONG JET STREAM WILL USHER IN PACIFIC MOISTURE INCREASING THE COVERAGE OF SNOW...WITH HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS. WARMER AIR WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA BY THURSDAY CHANGING THE SNOW TO FREEZING RAIN OR RAIN BY AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE BACK TO SNOW ON FRIDAY...AS COLDER AIR RETURNS TO THE REGION. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SNOW THROUGH THE COMING WEEKEND INTO MONDAY AS COLDER TEMPERATURES REMAIN OVER THE REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jan 27, 1:35 PM MST, 4 hours 25 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
135 PM MST TUE JAN 27 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1259 PM HEAVY SNOW ESSEX 48.28N 113.61W
01/27/2004 22.00 INCH FLATHEAD MT CO-OP OBSERVER
22 INCHES OF SNOW REPORTED BY OBSERVER.
1259 PM HEAVY SNOW POLEBRIDGE 48.77N 114.28W
01/27/2004 30.00 INCH FLATHEAD MT TRAINED SPOTTER
30 INCHES OF SNOW REPORTED IN POLEBRIDGE.
0917 AM BLIZZARD CORAM 48.42N 114.04W
01/27/2004 FLATHEAD MT DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
MONTANA TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT REPORTED NEAR ZERO
VISIBILITY ON U.S. HIGHWAY 2 FROM CORAM TO EAST GLACIER
DUE TO BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. HIGWAY 2 WAS CLOSED
FROM CORAM TO EAST GLACIER.
&&
SHKThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heavy snow, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Blackfoot Region
- When
- January 27, 6:00 PM MST to January 28, 8:00 AM MST
- Where
- Blackfoot Region forecast zone
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 46.986, -113.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Avalanche, West Glacier Region
- When
- January 28, 8:00 AM MST to January 29, 8:00 AM MST
- Where
- West Glacier Region forecast zone
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 47.971, -114.069 (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.
- Avalanche
- A mass of snow sliding down a mountainside that caused a death, an injury or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, January 27, 2004
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 27 to 28, 2004
- Cold in North Dakota, January 27 to 28, 2004
- Cold in Nebraska, January 27, 2004
- Winter Storm in Michigan, January 27 to 28, 2004
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 27 to 28, 2004
- Heavy Rain in Oregon, January 27 to 29, 2004
- Winter Weather in Illinois, January 27, 2004
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 27 to 28, 2004
- Cold in Iowa, January 27, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 27 to 28, 2004
- Winter Weather in South Carolina, January 27, 2004
More
Every storm in Montana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5380347, 5380348, 5380349.