A major low pressure system moved through the region placing the NWS Glasgow forecast area in the northern end of the system. Strong east winds of 20 to 30 mph were common with some sites reporting gusts to 45 mph during the event.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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 GGW wrote it up.
A major low pressure system moved through the region placing the NWS Glasgow forecast area in the northern end of the system. Strong east winds of 20 to 30 mph were common with some sites reporting gusts to 45 mph during the event. The event started in the early morning hours of Sunday March 29th and continued through the late afternoon on Monday March 30th.
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 Mar 29, 2:42 AM MST, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 342 AM MDT SUN MAR 29 2009 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY... THE VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE TROFF THAT MOVED OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COASTLINE LAST NIGHT IS EJECTING PLENTY OF MOISTURE INTO THE THE NORTHERN ROCKIES. THE SHORT WAVE WILL BECOME A CLOSED UPPER LOW AND IT WILL HELP DEEPEN SURFACE TROUGH INTO A SURFACE LOW ACROSS EASTERN IDAHO...SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND NORTHWESTERN WYOMING. THIS WILL FOCUS PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE CENTRAL SOUTHERN PART OF MONTANA. THE BULK OF THE SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE WESTERN PART OF THE CWA IN THE MORNING WITH QPF AMOUNTS AROUND 0.20 INCH IN THE SW TAPERING OFF TO THE EAST. BY AFTERNOON THE STORM CENTER BEGINS TO STACK-UP AS IT SLIDES INTO CENTRAL WYOMING. AS THIS STACKED SYSTEM MOVES EAST SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN WYOMING THE BEST DYNAMICS ARE IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PART OF THE CWA. QPF RAMPS UP MORE SOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER...AGAIN TAPERING TO ZERO TOWARD THE NORTHEAST ZONES. A 850MB 35KT-45KT WINDS FROM THE EAST WILL LINE UP WITH SURFACE GRADIENT FOR REENFORCEMENT DURING THE AFTERNOON. THIS ENERGETIC WIND SHOULD BE STRONG ENOUGH FOR AREAS BLOWING SNOW SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM WHITEWATER TO SIDNEY. DEFINITE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW WILL BE FOUND SOUTH OF HWY 200. EXPECT AT LEAST 6 TO 11 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE REGION TODAY INTO TONIGHT. HAVE ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE WESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN ZONES FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW STARTING AT 8AM. A BLIZZARD WARNING WILL START FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN ZONES AROUND 11 AM AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR THE COUNTIES ALONG HWY 2. THE STACKED LOW SLIDES FARTHER SOUTHEAST INTO WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. THIS WILL EFFECTIVELY SHIFT THE STRONGEST DYNAMICS INTO THE BYZ AREA WITH OUR SOUTHERN COUNTIES ON THE EDGE AGAIN...AND ONLY THE SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE IN THE SOUTHEAST ZONES OVERNIGHT ALONG WITH AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW SOUTH OF HWY 2. MONDAY MORNING THE STORM WILL BE INTO THE DAKOTAS...SO THE BLOWING SNOW WILL COME TO AN END BY 11 AM. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE THE SOUTHEAST ZONES WHERE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS COULD LAST INTO THE REST OF MONDAY AFTERNOON. OVERALL THE STORM SHOULD PRODUCE WARNING SNOW...6 TO 11 INCHES ACROSS THE SOUTH PART OF THE CWA AND ADVISORY SNOW 3 TO 5 INCHES NORTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. THE SNOW WILL BE LESS THEN AN INCH IN THE NORTHERN ZONES ALONG THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER. EXPECT THE STRONG WINDS TO LIFT THE NEW SNOW OFF OF THE SURFACE PRODUCING OCCASIONAL WHITE CONDITIONS. THIS ALONG WITH HEAVY DRIFTING OF SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVELING ACROSS THE CWA HAZARDOUS OR NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE AND INTERSTATE 94...HWY 2 AND HWY 200 COULD BE THE MOST EFFECTED HIGHWAYS ACROSS IN REGION. RAS .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... LITTLE CHANGE AMONG THE MEDIUM RANGE MODELS FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD. LONGWAVE TROF REMAINS OVER NORTH AMERICA THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK WHEN ANOTHER PATTERN CHANGE IS ADVERTISED. WEAK SHORTWAVE DROPS THROUGH CENTRAL MONTANA TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE OF SNOW. WAVE NOT PARTICULARLY STRONG SO SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION NOT EXPECTED. FINAL SHORTWAVE TO DIVE INTO THE LONGWAVE TROF SLIDES SOUTH ALONG THE BC COAST ON THURSDAY THEN INTO THE GREAT BASIN ON FRIDAY WHERE IT DEVELOPS INTO A PARTIALLY CLOSED LOW. CURRENT CHANCE OF SNOW MINIMAL WITH THIS SYSTEM FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA AS THE MODELS HAVE BEEN DIGGING THE TROF PROGRESSIVELY FURTHER SOUTH. RIDGE BUILDS ACROSS MONTANA FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING TO CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR EARLY APRIL. EBERT && .AVIATION... A WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL BE MOVING THROUGH SOUTHERN MONTANA TODAY THROUGH MONDAY. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW FROM 20 TO 35KT EAST WINDS WILL AFFECT THE TAF SITES WITH REDUCED CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES. KGGW...KOLF AND KSDY WILL BE ON THE EDGE OF THE STORM WITH MVFR TO OCCASIONAL IFR CONDITIONS SPREADING FROM WEST TO EAST BEGINNING BY LATE MORNING. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT KGDV BY LATE AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. RAE && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 AM MDT MONDAY FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-PETROLEUM-GARFIELD-SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS. BLIZZARD WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM MDT MONDAY FOR DAWSON- PRAIRIE-WIBAUX. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO MIDNIGHT MDT TONIGHT FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY-NORTHERN PHILLIPS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO NOON MDT MONDAY FOR WESTERN ROOSEVELT-MCCONE-RICHLAND. && WEATHER.GOV/GLASGOW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 333 PM MDT SAT MAR 28 2009 MTZ016-017-020-023-024-059-060-291200- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY- WESTERN ROOSEVELT-MCCONE-RICHLAND-NORTHERN PHILLIPS- SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS- 333 PM MDT SAT MAR 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT NORTHEAST MONTANA SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY. THE STORM TRACK WILL BRING ACCUMULATING SNOW OVER MOST OF EASTERN MONTANA...INCLUDING AREAS OF HEAVY SNOW MAINLY SOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR SUNDAY WITH AN ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 4 INCHES. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...IN THE RANGE OF 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH. THIS COULD CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. THIS COULD MAKE ANY TRAVEL HAZARDOUS SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. THEREFORE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SUNDAY. OTHER SPRING STORM SYSTEMS MAY AFFECT THE AREA MIDWEEK THEN AGAIN INTO NEXT WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ018-019-061-062-291200- DANIELS-SHERIDAN-NORTHERN VALLEY-EASTERN ROOSEVELT- 333 PM MDT SAT MAR 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT NORTHEAST MONTANA SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY. HOWEVER THE STORM TRACK HAS SHIFTED TO THE SOUTH AND IS NOT EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE NORTHERN ZONES. OTHER SPRING STORM SYSTEMS MAY AFFECT THE AREA MIDWEEK AND NEXT WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. MTZ021-022-025>027-291200- PETROLEUM-GARFIELD-DAWSON-PRAIRIE-WIBAUX- 333 PM MDT SAT MAR 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT NORTHEAST MONTANA SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY. THE STORM TRACK WILL BRING ACCUMULATING SNOW OVER MOST OF EASTERN MONTANA...INCLUDING AREAS OF HEAVY SNOW MAINLY SOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR SUNDAY NIGHT WITH ACCUMULATION OF AROUND 7 INCHES. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...IN THE RANGE OF 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH. THIS COULD CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. THIS COULD MAKE ANY TRAVEL HAZARDOUS SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. THEREFORE A WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SUNDAY. OTHER SPRING STORM SYSTEMS MAY AFFECT THE AREA MIDWEEK THEN AGAIN INTO NEXT WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy snow, 3 blizzard, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Four to six inches of snowfall fell across the area with the southeast portion of the zone receiving the heaviest snow and blizzard conditions. Drifts of one to two feet were commonly reported.
Four to eight inches of new snowfall were reported. Winds were east at 20 to 30 mph during the event, producing drifts up to two feet. Blizzard conditions also occurred about 10 miles south of Zortman, where visibilities were reduced to a quarter of a mile with very strong winds.
Seven to eight inches of snow fell, closing Highways 87 and 244.
Heavy snow fell over the far southern portion of the county, where a report of 6 inches occurred 35 miles south of Malta.
The extreme southern end of McCone County experienced near blizzard conditions with 1 to 4 inches of new snowfall. Visibilities were around a half mile at times throughout the day.
Blizzard conditions occurred with drifts up to four feet, mainly southeast of Terry. Up to 12 inches of snowfall was estimated. Three motorists were stranded in ditches along Interstate 94, which resulted in the Montana Department of Transportation closing it overnight of the 29th.
Blizzard conditions occurred during the period with six to nine inches of snowfall. Winds gusted to 52 mph.
Greater than six inches of snow fell in the southern half of the county with blizzard conditions generating snow drifts of up to four feet deep.
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, March 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 156587, 152677, 154675, 154632, 158336, 154668, 154672, 154658.