Late winter storm brought 10 to 13 inches of snow to the Clearwater Mountains and 4 to 6 inches to the valleys. West winds at 20 to 30 mph accompanied the storm.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
Late winter storm brought 10 to 13 inches of snow to the Clearwater Mountains and 4 to 6 inches to the valleys. West winds at 20 to 30 mph accompanied the storm.
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 Mar 16, 4:50 PM MST, 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
450 PM MST WED MAR 16 2005
.UPDATE...HAVE UPDATED ZONES AND DELAYED ADVISORY START TIME IN
MISSOULA AND BITTERROOT VALLEYS AS WELL AS VALLEYS IN SILVER BOW AND
DEER LODGE COUNTIES UNTIL EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. REASONING...
CURRENT TEMPERATURES AND VALLEY PRECIPITATION SHADOWING WILL LIMIT
PRECIPITATION UNTIL EARLY MORNING HOURS. TEMPERATURES WILL NOT
SUPPORT SNOW UNTIL EARLY MORNING.
&&
.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...A VIGOROUS
COLD FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BE PASSING THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT AND THEN
EXITING TO THE SOUTHEAST THURSDAY. THERE IS PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL
FORCING TO COMPLEMENT UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS AS THIS SYSTEM PULLS
MOISTURE IN OFF THE PACIFIC. WARM AND VERY DRY AIR IN THE BOUNDARY
LEVEL WILL DELAY THE EFFECT OF THIS SYSTEM IN THE VALLEY LOCATION
UNTIL LATER TONIGHT...THEREFORE THE SNOW ADVISORIES WILL BE ISSUED
FOR ELEVATION BELOW 4000 FEET TONIGHT...IN ADDITION TO WARNINGS ABOVE
4000 FEET. SNOW TOTALS COULD BE IN EXCESS OF A FOOT FOR THE
MOUNTAINS. WINDS WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN IN THE CAMAS PRAIRIE AREA
THIS EVENING AND LEMHI COUNTY TONIGHT IN IDAHO. HIGH MOMENTUM WINDS
ALOFT COMBINED WITH A SUPPORTIVE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL CAUSE
STRONG WINDS...ESPECIALLY IN AREAS WHERE THEY ARE CHANNELED.
A NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL FOLLOW THIS SYSTEM INTO THE NORTHERN
ROCKIES THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. OROGRAPHIC SNOW SHOWERS ARE
STILL GOOD BET...WITH DECREASING CHANCES IN THE VALLEYS. CLOUDS AND
COOLER AIR MASS WILL RESULT IN A COOLING TREND FOR THURSDAY.
FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AN UNSETTLED...MORE NORMAL WEATHER PATTERN
IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. LATEST MODELS SHOW A
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE SETTING UP OVER THE MIDWEST...WITH A LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM SETTING UP OVER THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST BY SATURDAY
MORNING. THIS PATTERN CONTINUES OVER THE WEEKEND WITH THE LOW
PRESSURE CENTER MOVING NORTH UP THE COAST OF BC AND SOUTHEAST
ALASKA...THEN DROPPING SOUTH BACK AROUND IN THE GULF OF ALASKA AND
INTO THE BC COAST BY TUESDAY. WHILE THIS IS GOING ON...WARM FRONTS
FROM THE SYSTEM ARE PUSHING WARMER AIR AND MOISTURE INTO OUR AREA
FROM THE SOUTHWEST. NOT A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN THIS SOLUTION AS THIS
IS THE FIRST SIGN OF THIS SCENARIO...BUT IT DOES COMPLIMENT THE
CURRENT WEATHER FORECAST BY CONTINUING NEAR ZONAL FLOW INTO CENTRAL
IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA AND INCREASING TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE
LONGTERM. &&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 4000 FEET TONIGHT MTZ001.
...SNOW ADVISORY BELOW 4000 FEET TONIGHT MTZ001.
...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 4000 FEET TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING MTZ002-004-006-043.
...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 5500 FEET TONIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING MTZ007.
...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY BELOW 5500 FEET EARLY MORNING
THURSDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NOON MTZ007.
...SNOW ADVISORY BELOW 4000 FEET TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
MORNING MTZ002.
...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING MTZ003.
...SNOW ADVISORY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY
NOON MTZ005.
...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY BELOW 4000 FEET TONIGHT
THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING MTZ004-006-043.
ID...WINTER STORM WARNING ABOVE 4000 FEET TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY
MORNING IDZ005-006.
...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY BELOW 4000 FEET TONIGHT INTO
THURSDAY MORNING IDZ005-006.
...WIND ADVISORY TODAY FOR THE CAMAS PRAIRIE IN IDZ007.
...WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR LEMHI COUNTY IN IDZ009-010.
&&
UPDATE/MWJ
PREVIOUS DISCUSSION/MSJ/STEGEMILLER
weather.gov/missoulaHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT 300 PM MST (200 PM PST) WED MAR 16 2005 IDZ007-009-010-171200- OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION-LEMHI COUNTY- THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TONIGHT STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE IN THE CAMAS PRAIRIE THROUGH EARLY EVENING AND WILL BEGIN TO DEVELOP IN LEMHI COUNTY TONIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO GTFNPWMSO FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE IN LEMHI COUNTY INTO EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO GTFNPWMSO FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. IDZ005-006-MTZ001>007-043-171200- CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS-KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-WEST GLACIER REGION- FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS-LOWER CLARK FORK REGION-MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS-BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-BUTTE/PINTLAR REGION-BLACKFOOT REGION- THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND WESTERN MONTANA .DAY ONE... TONIGHT A WINTER STORM WILL PROVIDE ACCUMULATING SNOW AND WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE REGION TONIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY ACCUMULATING SNOW AND WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. PLEASE REFER TO GTFWSWMSO FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. weather.gov/missoula
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 2005
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: 5440786, 5440787.