Behind the passage of a strong arctic front, very cold temperatures combined with strong winds to produce dangerously cold windchills across much of western Montana. Wind chills dipped to as low as 20 to 45 degrees below zero.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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.
Behind the passage of a strong arctic front, very cold temperatures combined with strong winds to produce dangerously cold windchills across much of western Montana. Wind chills dipped to as low as 20 to 45 degrees below zero.
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 Dec 13, 4:14 AM MST, 6 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
414 AM MST SAT DEC 13 2008
.DISCUSSION...
TODAY THROUGH NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT...THE FIRST IN A PAIR OF COLD
NORTHERLY STORM SYSTEMS IS CURRENTLY BEARING DOWN ON THE REGION.
POWERFUL MID AND UPPER LEVEL LIFT...COMBINED WITH A DEEP COLD
AIRMASS EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...WILL MAINTAIN SNOWFALL
AND STRONG WINDS DURING TODAY. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SNOW WILL
SHIFT FROM NORTHWEST MONTANA...TO WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO BY TONIGHT. STRONG SURFACE WINDS WILL SPREAD FROM
NORTH TO SOUTH DURING THIS TIME AS WELL...WITH OCCASIONAL BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS OVER AREA MOUNTAIN PASSES AND WITHIN THE FLATHEAD
VALLEY...PARTICULARLY NEAR KALISPELL...COLUMBIA FALLS...BADROCK
CANYON...AND MARIAS PASS. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...COMBINED
WITH STRONG SURFACE WINDS...WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS TRAVEL
CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE REGION. COLD AIR WILL CONTINUE TO BE
DRAWN WEST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS...REINFORCED BY THE SECOND NORTHERLY STORM SYSTEM EXPECTED TO
MOVE INTO THE GREAT BASIN BY MONDAY NIGHT. EXTREMELY COLD
TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST FOR SUNDAY NIGHT ONWARD...WITH LOW
TEMPERATURES AS COLD AS 40 BELOW ZERO AND SOME LOCATIONS UNABLE TO
WARM PAST 10 BELOW ZERO DURING THE DAY. EXPOSURE TO THESE COLD
TEMPERATURES CAN BECOME LIFE THREATENING TO HUMANS AND ANIMALS IN
A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. TEMPERATURES SHOW SIGNS OF WARMING
SOMEWHAT BY NEXT WEEKEND...AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST NUDGES INLAND. HOWEVER...TEMPERATURES WILL
REMAIN BELOW THE SEASONAL AVERAGE THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD.
&&
.AVIATION...
AN ACTIVE NORTHERLY STORM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT TERMINALS DURING THE
NEXT 24 HOURS. MVFR FLIGHT CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL
DURING THIS TIME...WITH IFR/LIFR CONDITIONS PRESENT AT KMSO AND
KGPI AT TIMES. SURFACE WINDS WILL BE GUSTING NEAR 35KT NEAR KGPI
THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ANTICIPATE WIDESPREAD TERRAIN
OBSCURATIONS DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS AS WELL.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR
BITTERROOT/SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINS-BUTTE/BLACKFOOT REGION-
POTOMAC/SEELEY LAKE REGION.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR
MISSOULA/BITTERROOT VALLEYS.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR
KOOTENAI/CABINET REGION-LOWER CLARK FORK REGION.
BLIZZARD WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR
FLATHEAD/MISSION VALLEYS.
BLIZZARD WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR WEST GLACIER
REGION.
ID...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR EASTERN LEMHI
COUNTY-WESTERN LEMHI COUNTY.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 10 AM PST SUNDAY
FOR LOWER HELLS CANYON/SALMON RIVER REGION-
OROFINO/GRANGEVILLE REGION.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY FOR SOUTHERN
CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY FOR NORTHERN
CLEARWATER MOUNTAINS.
&&
SHORT TERM...ZUMPFE
LONG TERM....VIA
AVIATION...ZUMPFEThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Windchills dipped down to 26 to 36 below zero in Polebridge and Essex.
Windchills reported between 20 and 30 below zero at several RAWS stations, including Gird Point and Tepee Point.
Windchills of 35 to 45 below zero were recorded at the Butte (KBTM) ASOS as well as in Helmville.
Windchills between 20 and 35 below zero were reported across the area, including at the Missoula (KMSO) ASOS.
Windchills between 20 and 25 below were reported at several observation sites.
Wind chills of 25 to 30 below zero were recorded at the Kalispell (KGPI) ASOS as well as in St. Ignatius at the Agrimet reporting station.
Pistol Creek and Greenough RAWS both reported wind chills down to 30 below zero.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, December 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: 142561, 142566, 142567, 142564, 142563, 142562, 142569.