Strong westerly flow aloft brought moisture in the form of heavy snow and rain to portions of western Montana. Liquid precipitation amounts ranged from 1 to 6 inches.
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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.
Strong westerly flow aloft brought moisture in the form of heavy snow and rain to portions of western Montana. Liquid precipitation amounts ranged from 1 to 6 inches. Snow fall amounts ranged between 3 and 13 inches, with the heavier amounts occuring over the higher terrain.
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 6, 4:35 AM MST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy snow, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Highway 12 going over Lolo Pass was closed due to the heavy snow and avalanche danger along the road.
Trained storm spotters in the area reported new snowfall amounts between 8 and 10 inches. Trees were reported down in the Seeley Lake area.
Spotters in the area reported new snowfall amounts of 8 to 9 inches between West Glacier and Essex.
Storm spotters in the region reported around 9 inches of new snow, with Blacktail Ski Area reporting 14 inches of new snow by the end of the event.
The Montana DOT reported severe driving conditions along Highway 200 between Greenough and Lincoln, as well as Highway 141 near Avon, and Highway 12 going over MacDonald Pass. The severe conditions were due to heavy snow and blowing snow reducing visibility.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2009
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: 147123, 147126, 147120, 147118, 147125.