Montana, 2004

Heavy Snow in Montana, May 11 to 12, 2004

May 11 to 12, 2004 · NWS GGW · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A major late season winter storm affected a portion of northeast Montana beginning late on the evening of the 10th, and continued until about noon on the 12th. The storm produced up to a foot of heavy wet snow, with snow drifts up to 5 feet deep.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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 major late season winter storm affected a portion of northeast Montana beginning late on the evening of the 10th, and continued until about noon on the 12th. The storm produced up to a foot of heavy wet snow, with snow drifts up to 5 feet deep. Low pressure developed in Wyoming on the evening of the 10th and tracked into the Dakotas during the afternoon hours of the 11th. Rain changed to snow late on the evening of the 10th and during the pre dawn hours of the 11th. Periods of snow continued through the morning of the 12th, and some of the snow fell heavily at times during the day on the 11th. Snowfall ranged from about 3 inches to as much as a foot across most of northeast Montana north of the Missouri River. Snowdrifts of up to 5 feet were reported in northern Valley County. In addition, strong east winds of 20 to 40 mph produced considerable blowing and drifting snow which reduced the visibility to less than a quarter of a mile at times. Many schools were closed, and roads were open to emergency travel only in Central and Northern Valley County as well as Daniels and Sheridan Counties during the day on the 11th and into the early morning hours of the 12th. Some snowfall totals across Northeast Montana included:Glasgow (Valley County): 3 inches18 miles south of Richland (Valley County): 12 inches4 miles southwest Hinsdale (Valley County): 12 inchesOpheim (Valley County): 10 inches, drifts 4 to 5 feet deep6 miles southwest of Hinsdale (Valley County): 8 inchesScobey (Daniels County): 8 inches7 miles east of Malta (Phillips County): 7 inchesWhitewater (Phillips county): 8 inches

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 May 10, 1:30 PM MST, 11 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 10, 1:30 PM MST, 11 hours 30 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 10, 5:00 AM MST, 20 hours before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Valley

When
May 11, 1:00 AM MST to May 12, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Valley forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Central and Southern Valley

When
May 11, 1:00 AM MST to May 12, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Central and Southern Valley forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.365, -106.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Phillips

When
May 11, 1:00 AM MST to May 12, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Phillips forecast zone
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
48.259, -107.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Central and Se Phillips

When
May 11, 1:00 AM MST to May 12, 12:00 PM 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)

Heavy Snow, Daniels

When
May 11, 1:00 AM MST to May 12, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Daniels forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.784, -105.549 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sheridan

When
May 11, 1:00 AM MST to May 12, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
48.721, -104.505 (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.

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, May 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: 5393539, 5393540, 5393541, 5393542, 5393543, 5393544.