A Pacific storm system brought heavy snow to portions of the Northern Rocky Mountain Front. Snow amounts of 6 inches were reported.
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 TFX wrote it up.
A Pacific storm system brought heavy snow to portions of the Northern Rocky Mountain Front. Snow amounts of 6 inches were reported.
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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 4, 9:40 PM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1040 PM MDT MON APR 4 2011 AVIATION SECTION UPDATED .UPDATE... HAVE ALREADY UPDATED ZONE FORECASTS AND GRIDS...WILL UPDATE STATE FORECAST SHORTLY. MAIN UPDATE WAS TO RAISE POPS OVERNIGHT IN THE WEST YELLOWSTONE AREA AND IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...WHILE LOWERING POPS THIS EVENING ACROSS THE PLAINS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. WEST YELLOWSTONE HAS BEEN REPORTING REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN SNOW MOST OF THE EVENING...BUT ONLY MINOR ACCUMULATIONS ON WEB CAMERAS BEFORE SUNSET. VISIBILITIES THERE ARE COMING UP LATE THIS EVENING...BUT HAVE RAISED MENTION OF SNOW TO CATEGORICAL AND INCREASED EXPECTED SNOW AMOUNTS. AM NOT EXPECTING ADVISORY CRITERIA SNOW THERE...BUT WANTED TO BETTER ADDRESS THE ONGOING SITUATION. ALSO RAISED POPS IN THE CENTRAL MONTANA MOUNTAINS TO REFLECT THE INCREASING RADAR ECHOES THERE. NO PRECIPITATION FALLING THIS EVENING OVER THE PLAINS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA...SO HAVE REMOVED MENTION OF PRECIPITATION THERE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS EVENING. MOISTURE TO GENERALLY INCREASE ACROSS THE AREA...SO SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH RAIN/SNOW LIKELY IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA AND IN THE EASTERN HALF OF THE CWA LOOKS IN LINE. THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ALONG THE EAST SLOPES ALSO LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK DUE TO THE WESTERLY DOWNSLOPE WINDS. ALSO LOWERED LOWS IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA TO REFLECT COOLING TEMPS THERE. ADVISORY FOR ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT ABOVE 5000 FEET ALSO LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE. COULSTON && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0440Z. WIDESPREAD MID- AND HIGH-LEVEL CLOUD COVER WILL CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MT TONIGHT WITH CEILINGS GENERALLY STAYING ABOVE FL080-100. WINDS HAVE STEADILY DECREASED PAST FEW HOURS AND SHOULD REMAIN LIGHT INTO TUES MORNING. NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM...CURRENTLY IN PACNW...WILL MAKE STEADY EASTWARD PROGRESS OVERNIGHT AND BRING INCREASING CLOUD COVER BY SUNRISE WITH SCT -SHRASN DEVELOPING SOUTH AND EAST OF KHVR-TO-KHLN LINE AFT 1200Z. MIX OF MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED WITH THE SHOWERS...PARTICULARLY FROM KBZN TO KLWT WHERE PRECIP COVERAGE WILL BE GREATER. GUSTY WINDS RETURN LATE TUES MORNING AND LAST THRU THE AFTN...WITH WEST/SW GUSTS OF 25 TO 35 KTS OVER MUCH OF THE REGION. WARANAUSKAS && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 540 PM MDT MON APR 4 2011/ TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...A BROAD UPPER RIDGE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT BUT STILL EXPECT INCREASING MOISTURE AHEAD OF IT. ONE WEATHER DISTURBANCE ALOFT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TUESDAY. HOT ON ITS HEELS WILL BE ANOTHER WEATHER DISTURBANCE WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGH MAINLY THE NORTHERN ZONES TUESDAY EVENING AND THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY AN UPPER RIDGE LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. WEDNESDAY SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPS OVER THE AREA. THE MOUNTAINS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE MORE SNOW. WILL CONTINUE WITH THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. THERE COULD BE A BREAK TUESDAY NIGHT DUE TO THE UPPER RIDGE. FOR SOUTHWEST MONTANA THE BEST THREAT FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING WHEN A COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH THE AREA. OVER THE PLAINS THE BEST THREAT FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE OVER EASTERN SECTIONS LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING AHEAD OF THE FIRST WEATHER DISTURBANCE MENTIONED ABOVE. AS MENTIONED ABOVE FOR THE PLAINS AND VALLEYS AS WELL AS ADJOINING MOUNTAINS EXPECT PRECIPITATION TO DECREASE TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE UPPER RIDGE MOVES TOWARDS AND INTO THE AREA. WEDNESDAY EXPECT TO SEE AN INCREASE IN MOISTURE SO WILL CONTINUE WITH THE MENTION OF A SLIGHT CHANCE OR CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW FOR THE SOUTHWEST VALLEYS AND WESTERN PLAINS. THE THREAT OF HIGH WINDS LOOKS MARGINAL AT THIS TIME FOR TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. A LITTLE CONCERNED THERE COULD BE LOCAL HIGH WINDS OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLD FRONT BUT AT THIS TIME DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO ISSUE A HIGH WIND HIGHLIGHT. BLANK WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE ZONES EARLY WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL BREAK DOWN AS A LOW PRESSURE TROF MOVES THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS TROF WILL BROADEN AND SLOW DOWN DURING THE NIGHT BUT MOISTURE WILL BE OVER THE ROCKIES AND SPREAD EAST BY MORNING. THE UPPER LEVEL TROF BECOMES VERY BROAD AND THE LARGE SCALE FORCING WILL BECOME WEAK THURSDAY OVER THE ZONES. MOISTURE REMAINS HIGH...HOWEVER...AND THE CHANCE OF PRECIP WILL REMAIN QUITE HIGH AS WELL. THE TROF WILL HAVE SEPARATED INTO A PAIR OF LOW CENTERS BY FRIDAY...ONE OVER THE DAKOTAS AND MINNESOTA...THE OTHER OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THIS WILL LEAVE THE ZONES UNDERNEATH A RELATIVE HIGH BETWEEN THE LOW CENTERS. THE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN RATHER MOIST BUT THE FORCING FOR PRECIP WILL BE LACKING. THE LOW PRESSURE CENTER FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MOVES EAST ACROSS NEVADA AND UTAH SATURDAY. MOISTURE AHEAD OF THIS LOW WILL MOVE INTO EXTREME SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE ZONES SUNDAY. THE AIRMASS WILL WARM AND DRY THROUGH MONDAY WITH TEMPS RISING WELL ABOVE NORMALS. ZELZER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 36 47 29 44 / 40 20 10 20 CTB 32 44 27 41 / 40 20 10 20 HLN 38 49 28 45 / 50 50 10 20 BZN 35 49 23 45 / 60 60 10 20 WEY 23 36 19 30 / 90 90 60 50 DLN 32 45 24 43 / 60 60 20 30 HVR 32 42 27 43 / 60 60 20 10 LWT 33 44 25 42 / 70 40 10 10 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 3 PM MDT TUESDAY FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET ALONG THE NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT AND SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. && SHORT TERM...BLANK/COULSTON LONG TERM...ZELZER AVIATION...WARANAUSKAS WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 841 AM MDT MON APR 4 2011 MTZ008-010>015-044>047-049>055-051445- BEAVERHEAD-EASTERN GLACIER-HILL-CASCADE-CHOUTEAU- CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN LEWIS AND CLARK-MADISON-TOOLE-LIBERTY- EASTERN PONDERA-BLAINE-EASTERN TETON-JUDITH BASIN-FERGUS- JEFFERSON-BROADWATER-MEAGHER-GALLATIN- 841 AM MDT MON APR 4 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. MTZ009-048-051445- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 841 AM MDT MON APR 4 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ABOVE 5000 FEET FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW BEGINNING AT NOON MDT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM MDT TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Six inches of snow fell at East Glacier Park 11SSW (the Pike Creek SNOTEL site - elevation 5930 feet).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, April 2011
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: 292391.