Winter Weather in Montana, January 7, 2004

Name: Winter Weather in Montana, January 7, 2004
Start: 2004-01-07T08:00
End: 2004-01-07T18:00
Location: Montana

January 7, 2004 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Freezing rain turned to moderate snow over Flathead County causing numerous car accidents throughout the county from very slick roads. One fatality and six injuries were reported from automobile accidents to due icy roads.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 1
Injuries: 6
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 7, 2:00 AM MST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 2:00 AM MST, 6 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
200 AM MST WED JAN 7 2004

.SHORT TERM...WARMER AIR ALOFT CONTINUES TO STREAM INTO NORTH CENTRAL
IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA THIS MORNING. TEMPERATURES HAVE REMAINED
STEADY OR SLIGHTLY INCREASED THROUGH THE NIGHT. THIS WARMER AIR WILL
ALLOW INVERSIONS TO STRENGTHEN THROUGH THE DAY AND THE VALLEYS OF
WESTERN MONTANA WILL STAY IN THE TEENS. THERE WILL BE LITTLE WIND
TODAY AND TONIGHT THUS TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO SINGLE DIGITS
TONIGHT ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AS INVERSIONS REMAIN DUE TO NO
MIXING. PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO ARE ALREADY IN THE TEENS TO
LOWER 20S AT THIS HOUR. AT LOOKOUT PASS AT I-90 IT IS ZERO...
BUT 1300 FEET HIGHER AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN IT IS 20 DEGREES
MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM IN FROM THE PACIFIC TODAY PRODUCING
WIDESPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE AREA. HARDEST HIT WILL BE NORTHWESTERN
MONTANA AND CLEARWATER COUNTY IN IDAHO. CURRENT WARNINGS LOOK TO BE
ON TRACK AND WILL CONTINUE THEM THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. THURSDAY A
DIRTY RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WITH A CONTINUED CHANCE
OF SNOW. BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON THE RIDGE BEGINS TO MOVE EAST AS A
TROUGH NEARS THE WEST COAST.

.LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)...MODEL CONSISTENCY IN
THE EXTENDED...ALONG WITH FORECAST CONFIDENCE...IS RATHER LOW THIS
CYCLE. ALL THE MODELS HAVE SOME KIND OF UPPER RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN
CONUS FRI NIGHT AND SAT WITH A DISTURBANCE ALOFT DRAGGING A WEAK COLD
FRONT THROUGH. THEN THINGS SHOULD DRY OUT SUNDAY AS A RIDGE BUILDS
OVER THE WEST COAST. THE ECMWF AND NOGAPS ARE THE STRONGEST WITH THE
RIDGE ON SUN. CONSISTENCY REALLY GETS BAD MON AND TUE WITH THE GFS
MAINTAINING A BROAD...BUT BUILDING RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC
WHILE THE ECMWF AND NOGAPS HAVE SOME SORT OF CUTOFF LOW OFF OF
CALIFORNIA...AND WEAKER RIDGING OVER THE NW COAST. WHILE THE GFS
SOLUTION WOULD ALLOW PRECIP TO COME OVER THE RIDGE...THE OTHER MODELS
WOULD BE DRY. GIVEN UNCERTAINTIES WILL SIMPLY KEEP THE SLIGHT CHANCE
TO CHANCE POPS WE HAVE GOING FOR THE END OF THE EXTENDED. DESPITE
THE LACK OF CONSISTENCY...IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT FOR DAYS 8-10 THE
GFS IS NOW TRENDING TOWARD BRINGING THE DEEP ARCTIC AIR BACK WESTWARD
AGAIN. AS WE NOW KNOW...IT DID WELL WITH THAT LAST TIME.
&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...HEAVY SNOW WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM WEDNESDAY FOR
     MTZ001-002-004...
ID...HEAVY SNOW WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 5 PM WEDNESDAY FOR
     IDZ005...
&&

SHORT TERM/KOCH
LONG TERM/WRIGHT

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 4:15 AM MST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
414 AM MST (314 AM PST) WED JAN 7 2004

IDZ005-MTZ001-002-004-081300-
NORTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-
WEST GLACIER REGION-LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-
414 AM MST (314 AM PST) WED JAN 7 2004

.DAY ONE... TODAY

A MOIST PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL MOVE OVER A DOME OF COLD AIR OVER THE
REGION TODAY...RESULTING IN HEAVY SNOW. HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS REMAIN
IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA. REFER TO GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

WIDESPREAD SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE AGAIN ON SATURDAY AS ANOTHER PACIFIC
SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA.

IDZ006>010-MTZ003-005>007-043-081300-
SOUTHERN CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-
LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER-WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY-
EASTERN LEMHI COUNTY-FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS-
MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-
BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION-
414 AM MST (314 AM PST) WED JAN 7 2004

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

A MOIST PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL MOVE OVER A DOME OF COLD AIR OVER THE
REGION TODAY...RESULTING IN WIDESPREAD LIGHT SNOWFALL. WHILE
ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE FAIRLY LIGHT...THE SNOWFALL COULD
HAMPER TRAVEL AT TIMES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

WIDESPREAD SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE AGAIN ON SATURDAY AS ANOTHER PACIFIC
SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, West Glacier Region

When: January 7, 8:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When: January 7, 8:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Weather, Flathead/Mission Valleys	2004-01-07	39	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5382155, 5382156.