On March 3 and 4, a winter weather system moved across the Clearwater Mountains and produced heavy snowfall and gusty winds.
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.
On March 3 and 4, a winter weather system moved across the Clearwater Mountains and produced heavy snowfall and gusty winds.
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 3, 3:51 PM PST, 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
451 PM MST MON MAR 3 2008
.UPDATE...BEGAN THE SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE FLATHEAD MISSION VALLEY
EARLY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...PERSISTENT SNOW HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE LAST
COUPLE HOURS IN KALISPELL...SO STARTED THE SNOW ADVISORY AT 4PM
MST. WILL ALSO HAVE TO INCREASE CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION UP OVER
NORTHWEST MONTANA THIS EVENING.
&&
.AVIATION...A WINTER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
WIDESPREAD SHOWERS WILL CAUSE LOWERED VISIBILITY AND CEILING AT
ALL TERMINALS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT AND MORNING HOURS. WIDESPREAD
MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS BEFORE A
GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT BY TUESDAY EVENING.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 353 PM MST MON MAR 3 2008/
DISCUSSION...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL PUSH THROUGH THE
REGION OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS. THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE THROUGH THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST OVERNIGHT. SNOW WILL
INCREASE IN NORTHWEST MONTANA TONIGHT...AND WILL BECOME MORE
WIDESPREAD ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO BY
MORNING. THIS SYSTEM WILL BE RELATIVELY MOIST AND COLD WHICH WILL
INCREASE SNOW RATIOS AND ALLOW FOR HEAVY ACCUMULATIONS AND AREAS
BLOWING SNOW. INITIALLY SNOW WILL IMPACT MOUNTAINS AND PASSES AS
STRONG WESTERLY FLOW WILL KEEP VALLEYS DOWN-SLOPED. BY
MORNING...FLOW WILL SHIFT NORTHWESTERLY AND VALLEYS WILL BEGIN TO
RECEIVE SNOW. HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED OVER THE CLEARWATER AND
BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS AND GLACIER PARK. ALONG WITH THE FRONTAL
PASSAGE THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL TIGHTEN TONIGHT
RESULTING IN STRONG WESTERLY WINDS THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING. THE
FRONT WILL MOVE OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. A
VARIETY OF WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS ARE OUT AT THIS TIME. FOR
INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO THESE PRODUCTS...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE
AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MISSOULA. SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO
DISSIPATE BY TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EXITS TO THE
SOUTH.
A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN
ROCKIES BEGINNING WEDNESDAY. FORECAST MODELS DIFFER SLIGHTLY ON THE
STRENGTH OF THIS RIDGE...BUT NEVERTHELESS...A DECREASE IN
PRECIPITATION AND AN INCREASE IN TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE RIDGE
IS EXPECTED TO BE SHORT LIVED HOWEVER AS ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM
BEGINS TO BREAK IT DOWN LATE THURSDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN
SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THIS TIME FRAME. FROM FRIDAY AND
BEYOND THE MODELS ARE HAVING GREAT DIFFICULTY WITH SYSTEMS MOVING
THROUGH THE BROAD UPPER RIDGE. WILL NOT CHOOSE ONE MODELS TIMING
OVER THE OTHER. HAVE THEREFORE CONTINUED CLIMATOLOGICAL
PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND AT TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE TEMPERATURES
THROUGH THE PERIOD FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 PM MST TUESDAY FOR
BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-WEST GLACIER REGION.
SNOW ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST TUESDAY FOR
MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST TUESDAY FOR LOWER CLARK FORK
REGION.
SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM MST TUESDAY FOR FLATHEAD/MISSION
VALLEYS.
SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST TUESDAY FOR KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION.
SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL 11 PM MST TUESDAY FOR
POTOMAC/SEELEY LAKE REGION.
SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM
MST TUESDAY FOR BUTTE/BLACKFOOT REGION.
ID...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM PST TUESDAY
ABOVE 3000 FEET FOR OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PST TUESDAY FOR SOUTHERN
CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM PST TUESDAY FOR NORTHERN
CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
&&
UPDATE...STEGEMILLER/KITSMILLER
PREVIOUS...FOSTER/VIA/MEAD
AVIATION...VIAThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Trained weather spotters in Pierce and Headquarters reported 12 and 6 inches of new snow respectively over a 12 hour period. In addition, nearby automated weather stations reported wind gusts between 21 and 29 mph.
Weather observers at the Powell Ranger Station and at Lolo Pass reported 7.5 and 10 inches of new snowfall accumulations respectively. In addition, the Lodgepole and Southfork weather stations reported wind gusts to 21 and 29 mph respectively.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 2008
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: 79392, 79393.