A powerful, late-season winter storm directed heavy, wet snow and strong winds through portions of central and eastern Montana.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 powerful, late-season winter storm directed heavy, wet snow and strong winds through portions of central and eastern Montana.
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 18, 8:27 PM MST, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 927 PM MDT SUN MAR 18 2012 .SHORT TERM...FOR NORTHEAST MONTANA...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY... SENT A MINOR UPDATE TONIGHT FOR SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS TO WINDS...POPS...CLOUDS ETC. CURRENT WINTER HIGHLIGHTS LOOK TO BE WELL ON TRACK. BMICKELSON PREVIOUS SHORT TERM DISCUSSION...THE ELONGATED UPPER TROUGH ALONG THE WEST COAST CONTINUES TO PICK UP MOISTURE FROM THE AREA OF THE BAJA. THIS MOISTURE IS BEING DIRECTED NORTH INTO MONTANA. THE TROUGH AND COLD FRONT SHIFTS EAST TONIGHT. MOST THE OVERRUNNING MOISTURE BEGINS IN THE CENTRAL REGION TODAY...THEN SHIFTS EAST INTO NORTHEAST MONTANA TONIGHT. MODELS BRING IN A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF QPF AFTER MIDNIGHT AND THROUGH MONDAY. THE EC CAME IN LATE IN THE SHIFT BUT IT BACKS UP THE GFS QPF AMOUNTS FAIRLY CLOSE. EXPECT AROUND A THIRD OF AN INCH LATE TONIGHT AND UP TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH ON MONDAY IN THE WESTERN ZONES. THE MAIN CHALLENGE WILL BE TEMPERATURES AND SNOW LEVEL. MUCH OR MOST OF THE QPF WILL FALL INITIALLY AS RAIN THEN TRANSITION OVER TO SNOW IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS LATE TONIGHT AND LOWER ELEVATIONS ON MONDAY. WHERE SNOW DOES FALL...ACCUMULATION MIGHT BE LIMITED FROM WARM GROUND TEMPERATURES ON THIS LAST DAY OF WINTER. A LEE TROUGH CLOSED SURFACE LOW WILL GENERATE STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS TONIGHT IN OUR WEST. THE LOW WILL SLOWLY LIFT INTO SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON. THIS WILL BACK THE STRONG WINDS AROUND TO THE NORTHWEST IN THE WEST AND TO A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION IN THE EASTERN ZONES. DURING THIS PERIOD THE RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO SNOW. THE WINDS COULD CAUSE A BLOWING SNOW...REDUCING VISIBILITY WHERE IT IS SNOWING. FOR THE AREA AROUND ZORTMAN...STORM SNOW TOTAL COULD BE AS HIGH AS 7 INCHES. THEREFORE ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW STARTING TONIGHT TO LAST THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. ELSEWHERE RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO SNOW SOMETIME IN THE MONDAY MORNING. THEREFORE ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW FOR MONDAY INTO MONDAY EVENING FOR THE WESTERN COUNTIES. MONDAY NIGHT THE QPF TAPERS OFF BUT CAA AND GUSTY WINDS FROM THE NORTHWEST WILL DROP OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO NORMAL. PRECIPITATION WILL END LATE MONDAY NIGHT. TUESDAY WILL SEE WINDS CONTINUE TO BACK AS THE CLOSED LOW MOVES INTO MANITOBA. THIS MODERATE SOUTHERLY WIND AND FLOW ALOFT BECOMING ZONAL WILL PUSH HIGHS SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. SCT .LONG TERM...TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... GOING FORECAST WAS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. MODEL CONSISTENCY STILL LACKING ESPECIALLY BEYOND THURSDAY. MODELS ARE COMING INTO AGREEMENT WITH A RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE AREA COME FRIDAY INSTEAD OF A DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH. REST OF PERIOD LOOKED GOOD AND QUIET COMPARED TO SHORT TERM. JAMBA PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD BEGINS WITH MONTANA UNDER A MORE ZONAL FLOW PATTERN...SANDWICHED BETWEEN CANADIAN LOW PRESSURE AND HIGHER PRESSURE FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN US STATES. MOISTURE IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED AND LARGE SCALE FORCING FOR ASCENT GENERALLY OSCILLATES BETWEEN WEAK LIFTING AND WEAK SUBSIDENCE THROUGH THE ENTIRE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD. JUST ENOUGH OF THESE MIGHT BE PRESENT FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING TO SQUEEZE OUT A FEW SPRINKLES OF RAIN ACROSS OUR NORTHWESTERN ZONES. BEGINNING FRIDAY NIGHT...FORECAST CONFIDENCE DECREASES SIGNIFICANTLY WITH A CORRESPONDING DIVERGENCE OF EXTENDED MODEL SOLUTIONS. THE GFS WANTS TO BRING THE NEXT PACIFIC UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WELL INLAND OVER THE WESTERN STATES AND CASCADE MOUNTAIN RANGE WHILE THE EC WANTS TO KEEP THAT NEXT WESTERN TROUGH COMPLETELY OUT TO SEA AND HOLD WEAK RIDGING OVER MONTANA. FOR NOW...TRIED TO BLEND EXTENDED SOLUTIONS AND AS SUCH...NOT A WHOLE LOT OF ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD. MOST OF OUR CWA LIES ON THE DRIER SIDE OF THINGS THROUGH THE EXTENDED...BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A PROMINENT MOISTURE FEED TO OUR WEST WHICH REPEATEDLY CLIPS OUR NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN ZONES. AS FORECAST MODEL SOLUTION FALL MORE INTO LINE WITH EACH OTHER...ADDITIONAL PERIODS OF PRECIPITATION WILL LIKELY BE ADDED TO THE FORECAST FOR THESE AREAS. FOR TEMPERATURES...EXPECT GENERALLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES WITH A COLD FRONT ON THURSDAY NIGHT...DROPPING TEMPERATURES 5 TO 10 DEGREES...CLOSER TOWARD MORE NORMAL LEVELS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...ONLY TO REBOUND WARMER YET AGAIN INTO NEXT WEEKEND. BMICKELSON && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT BUT A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING UNSETTLED CONDITIONS ON MONDAY. RAIN IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE GLASGOW AND WOLF POINT AIRPORTS AND AREAS WEST MONDAY MORNING WITH PRECIPITATION TURNING TO SNOW MONDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING...WHICH COULD TRANSITION CONDITIONS TO MVFR OR IFR. SYSTEM IS NOT EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE SIDNEY OR GLENDIVE AREAS UNTIL LATER MONDAY NIGHT. JAMBA/MARTIN && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 AM MONDAY TO MIDNIGHT MDT MONDAY NIGHT FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS...PETROLEUM... GARFIELD...NORTHERN PHILLIPS. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT MONDAY NIGHT FOR SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS. && WEATHER.GOV/GLASGOW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GLASGOW MT 229 PM MDT SUN MAR 18 2012 MTZ016-017-021-022-059>061-191100- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PHILLIPS-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VALLEY- PETROLEUM-GARFIELD-NORTHERN PHILLIPS-SOUTHWEST PHILLIPS- NORTHERN VALLEY- 229 PM MDT SUN MAR 18 2012 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...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL LIFT NORTH ACROSS MONTANA TONIGHT INTO MONDAY. SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED WITH THIS SYSTEM...BUT MAINLY WEST OF A MALTA TO WINNETT LINE. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE LITTLE ROCKY MOUNTIANS LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY EVENING...WHERE ACCUMULATIONS MAY TOP 6 INCHES. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINDER OF PHILLIPS...PETROLEUM AND WESTERN GARFIELD COUNTIES MONDAY AND MONDAY EVENING. .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.
2 blizzard, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Highway 191 south of Malta was closed due to drifting snow. Sustained winds up to 30 mph were common.
Trained spotters and co-operative observers reported sustained conditions of heavy snow and visibility of 1/2 mile. Visibility dropped to zero at times. Reports of 4 to 6 inches of snow were common across the lower elevations. Storm total snow amount of 13 inches was reported by the co-operative observer at Zortman with drifts of 2 to 3 feet tall.
Co-operative observer reported around 5 inches of heavy, wet snow and visibility reduced to 1/4 mile.
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, March 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: 372042, 370101, 372049.