An upper level disturbance brought snow to the Rocky Mountain Front and portions of Southwest Montana. Snow amounts of 10 to 12 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.
An upper level disturbance brought snow to the Rocky Mountain Front and portions of Southwest Montana. Snow amounts of 10 to 12 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 Jan 16, 10:30 PM MST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 1030 PM MST MON JAN 16 2012 UPDATED AVIATION .UPDATE... HAVE DROPPED THE MENTION OF SNOW FOR MOST OF CENTRAL MONTANA AND THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MONTANA FOR THE REST OF THIS EVENING BASED ON RADAR/SATELLITE IMAGERY AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. ALSO BACKED OFF ON THE INHERITED THREAT OF SNOW IN THESE SAME AREAS FOR LATE TONIGHT. AS FOR TEMPERATURES RAISED SOME LOWS FOR TONIGHT OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA WITH INCREASING SKY COVER THE REST OF TONIGHT. ALSO LOWERED THEM NEAR THE CANADIAN BORDER BASED ON EARLY EVENING TRENDS. AS FOR HIGHLIGHTS HAVE HIGH CONFIDENCE IN WINTER STORM CONDITIONS FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT. ALSO WAS CONSIDERING A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN THE FAR NORTH FOR AT LEAST TONIGHT BUT WINDS HAVE DROPPED OFF. WILL NEED TO REVISIT WIND CHILLS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT. BLANK && .AVIATION... UPDATED 0600Z. A COLD FRONT WILL DESCEND FROM CANADA AND BRING LIGHT TO AT TIMES MODERATE SNOW TO AREAS ALONG THE HI-LINE INCLUDING KCTB AND KHVR. MVFR AND OCCASIONAL IFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THESE LOCATIONS AND WIDESPREAD MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION IS ALSO EXPECTED THROUGH TUESDAY. PATCHY FOG IS ALSO POSSIBLE AT KHLN AND ADDED VCFG THROUGH TONIGHT. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTHEAST BEHIND THE FRONT FOR KCTB AND KHVR AND ELSEWHERE REMAIN LIGHT AND VARIABLE. THE FRONT WILL APPROACH CENTRAL MONTANA TOWARDS THE END OF THE CURRENT FORECAST PERIOD WITH LIGHT SNOW DEVELOPING FROM KGTF TO KLWT BY 06Z WEDNESDAY. MLV && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 438 PM MST MON JAN 16 2012/ TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...OVERALL...AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL RESIDE OVER THE REGION FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD AND HEAVIER TOWARDS MORNING. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW OVER THIS REGION AT TIMES THEN FROM TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...SO THIS REGION HAS BEEN PLACED UNDER A WINTER STORM WATCH. ELSEWHERE OVER THE REGION TONIGHT...EXPECT SOME PASSING EVENING FLURRIES...WITH ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT...MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN TIER OF THE REGION. FOR TUESDAY...EXPECT THE SNOW TO CONTINUE ALONG THE FRONT RANGE...WHILE THE SNOW SHOWERS START TO SPREAD A BIT FURTHER EASTWARD OVER NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY REMAIN COLD. FOR TUESDAY NIGHT THE SNOW BECOMES LIKELY ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL/SOUTHWEST MONTANA AS THE MAIN WARM FRONT BEGINS TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTHWEST MONTANA. THIS WARM FRONT WILL BEGIN TO SLOWLY PUSH NORTHWARD WEDNESDAY...AND LOCATIONS NEAR THE MAIN FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHOULD RECEIVE THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN COLD OVER MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA...AS SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES START TO MOVE BACK INTO FAR SOUTHWEST MONTANA. BRUSDA WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS AGREE THAT THE BITTERLY COLD AIRMASS WILL BEGIN TO MODERATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AS THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE WESTERLY. HOWEVER...THERE ARE STILL DIFFERENCES AMONG THE MODELS IN THE EXACT POSITIONING OF THE SURFACE BOUNDARY DIVIDING THE WARM AND COLD AIRMASSES...WHICH IS RESULTING IN MODEL FORECAST TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES OF GENERALLY 10 TO 20 DEGREES THROUGH THE END OF THIS WEEK. THEREFORE...AM ELECTING TO GO WITH MORE OF A GRADUAL MOVEMENT OF THE BOUNDARY THROUGH THE PERIOD...RESULTING IN A GRADUAL WARMING OF TEMPERATURES. HOWEVER...SNOW WILL REMAIN LIKELY FOR THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY PERIODS DUE TO CONTINUED SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE OVERRUNNING THE COLD AIRMASS STILL IN PLACE. AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR THIS EVENT...AS SNOWFALL WILL BE LIGHT BUT PERSISTENT. THE SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL LIFT NORTHEAST DURING THIS PERIOD...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES IN SOUTHWEST MONTANA TO WARM TO ABOVE NORMAL...CAUSING VALLEY PRECIPITATION TO LIKELY BE A RAIN/SNOW MIX. CENTRAL MONTANA (INCLUDING GREAT FALLS AND LEWISTOWN) WILL LIKELY ONLY REACH NEAR NORMAL. AS THE FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE WESTERLY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...THE BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST...ALLOWING ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO REACH INTO CENTRAL MONTANA WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AS FAR NORTH AS THE CANADIAN BORDER. THERE WILL LESS OF A THREAT OF OVERRUNNING PRECIPITATION AS THE SURFACE BOUNDARY LIFTS NORTH...BUT A DISTURBANCE IN THE FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE MOUNTAIN SHOWERS AND KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE PLAINS. HOWEVER...STRONG WESTERLY WINDS BLOWING OVER RIDGE TOPS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW THERE. THE MORE PROGRESSIVE WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BECOME LESS MOIST OVER THE WEEKEND AND KEEP TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO NORMAL...BUT DISTURBANCES IN THE FLOW WILL GENERALLY KEEP AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AROUND THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD. COULSTON && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF -8 13 -10 -2 / 10 30 80 90 CTB -21 -6 -21 -10 / 40 70 80 90 HLN 2 21 8 16 / 10 30 70 90 BZN -9 22 10 21 / 10 20 70 80 WEY -8 11 3 20 / 20 40 60 80 DLN 4 18 11 21 / 10 20 60 80 HVR -16 2 -18 -9 / 20 40 60 60 LWT -8 19 -8 0 / 10 20 70 80 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 AM TUESDAY TO 4 AM MST FRIDAY NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT...SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT. && WEATHER.GOV/GREATFALLS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT 946 PM MST MON JAN 16 2012 MTZ009-048-180500- NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT-SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT- 946 PM MST MON JAN 16 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A LOW PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... REPORTS OF SNOWFALL...ICE ACCUMULATION OR SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS TO VISIBILITY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. MTZ008-010>015-044>047-049>055-180500- 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- 946 PM MST MON JAN 16 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MONTANA...NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA AND SOUTHWEST MONTANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A LOW PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A WEATHER SYSTEM ARRIVING WEDNESDAY WILL BRING THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVIER SNOWFALL OCCURRING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES COULD BE NECESSARY DURING THIS PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... REPORTS OF SNOWFALL...ICE ACCUMULATION OR SIGNIFICANT RESTRICTIONS TO VISIBILITY WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ten inches of snow fell at Babb 11WSW (the Many Glacier SNOTEL site - elevation 4900 feet).
Six inches of snow fell at Choteau 8ENE.
Eighteen inches of snow fell at Neihart 7SSE.
Six inches of snow fell at Helena.
Fourteen inches of snow fell at Neihart 12SSE.
Eight inches of snow fell at Clancy 3W.
Twelve inches of snow fell at Neihart 10SSE (the Deadman Creek SNOTEL site - elevation 6480 feet). Also, 6 inches of snow fell at White Sulphur Springs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2012
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: 358060, 358063, 358061, 358062, 358065, 358068, 358071.