Winter Storm and Avalanche in Montana, November 15 to 17, 2013

A weather spotter that works as a ranger for Glacier National Park reported that up to 2 feet of snow had fallen on North Fork Rd., north of the park headquarters. The West Glacier COOP reported 9 of total storm snowfall while the Hungry Horse Dam COOP reported 11. The park ranger reported that several vehicles became stuck in the snow because of the snow depth. The Flattop Mountain SNOTEL, located 9.7 miles northwest of Logan Pass at 6,300 feet reported at storm total snowfall of 16 with 2.00 of total precipitation. The Emery Creek SNOTEL, located 5 miles south-southeast of West Glacier at 4,350 ft., reported 14 of total storm snowfall. A weather spotter from the Spotted Bear ranger station, located 40 miles southeast of Hungry Horse at 3,753 ft., reported a storm total snowfall of 8.

The Poorman Creek SNOTEL at 5,100 ft., located 18 miles south-southwest of Libby in the Cabinet Mountains, reported 18 of snowfall from Nov. 15-17. It reported heavy snow from 1 pm to 10 pm MST on Nov. 16 and from 10 am to 1 pm MST on Nov. 17. This created dangerous conditions for hunters out in the higher terrain.

MTDOT reported up 3 to 5 inches of storm total snowfall on US-2 between Libby and Happy's Inn with up to 8 inches that fell along a 5 mile stretch of US-2 between McGinnis Meadows to Loon Lake in a 36 hour period. This caused slick conditions at times due to snow and slush on the roads. The road sensor at Crystal Creek, about 19.6 miles south-southeast of Libby, reported snow with road temperatures at or below freezing during the evening and morning hours between the 15th and 17th. Other snow totals include: 4.8 9 mi. NNE of Yaak COOP, 6.1 30 mi. SSE of Libby COOP, 1.5 Libby 1 mi. NE RS COOP, 8 Olney COOP, and 2.9 1 mi. SE Marion.

The COOP observer located in Olney reported 8 of total snowfall from Nov. 16 through Nov. 18. A person from the public reported that the falling snow on Nov. 16, was very heavy and dense with difficult driving conditions in the Olney area. The Hand Creek SNOTEL at 5,035 ft., located 20 miles southwest of Olney reported 16 of snowfall and 1.50 of precipitation from Nov 15-17. This sensor also reported periods of heavy snow during the morning and afternoon hours on the 16th.

A NWS employee reported that 2 inches of snow had already fallen on the road at mile marker 4 on Interstate 90 by 4:54 pm MST on Nov. 15th. By the time the storm cycle was over with, the Lookout Pass ski resort had reported 21 of total snowfall. Visibility was reduced with slick road conditions reported through much of the weekend. Power outages were reported at Lookout Pass during the morning of Nov. 16th, but the reasoning was not reported.

The Pike Creek SNOTEL located near Marias Pass reported a storm total snowfall of 15 while a mesonet sensor located 6 mi. southwest of the pass measured 12 of snow. The Essex web cam reported snow with periods of low visibility while the Montana DOT road reports stated that US-2 between Essex and Marias Pass experienced blowing snow and reduced visibility on the morning of the 16th. On November 16, an arctic cold front moved west through Marias Pass between 12:45 pm and 1:15 pm and through Essex between 2:46 pm and 3:46 pm MST. This front brought gusty winds between 20 and 30 mph for several hours, causing impacts of reduced visibility, snow and blowing snow to travel along the US-2 corridor.

Highway 471 and Thompson Pass were closed for a time on Nov. 16th due to hazardous travel conditions and the Sanders County sheriff office advised people not to travel. Numerous vehicle slide-offs were reported on I-90 due to snow and ice during the morning of Nov. 16th. The COOP observer located 2 mi. northwest of Heron reported 7.4 of snow with 0.94 of precipitation on Nov. 16th. Also the COOP observer located 1 mi. west of Haugan measured a total of 12 of total snow with 1.20 of precipitation between Nov. 16 and Nov. 18. A NWS employee driving on I-90 east of St. Regis at 6:49 pm MST on Nov. 16th reported less than 100 ft. visibility with heavy snow.

The Lolo Pass SNOTEL located at 5,240 ft., reported a total of 19 of snow between Nov. 15-17. It reported 9 of heavy snow between 2 and 10 am MST on Nov. 16 and also from 5 to 7 am on Nov. 17. The ITD road sensor at Lolo Pass reported slick conditions for much of the weekend and only improving by Monday Nov. 18th. The Saddle Mountain SNOTEL at 7,900 ft., located one mile west of Lost Trail Pass reported 11 of total snowfall with 0.60 precipitation between Nov. 15-17. Other snowfall totals include: 14 Twelvemile Creek located 13.2 mi. west of Charlos Height at 5,600 ft. and 22 Twin Lakes SNOTEL located 16 mi. west of Charlos Height at 6,400 ft. The Twin Lakes sensor also reported 2.10 of total precipitation during the event.

Numerous natural (slab) and human triggered avalanches were reported in the Jewel Basin in the Swan Range by the Flathead Avalanche Center on Saturday November 16th. The Noisy Basin SNOTEL located 8.8 mi. east-southeast of Creston at 6,040 ft. reported a storm total snowfall of 24 with 3.20 of precipitation.

The Seeley Lake ranger station COOP reported 10 of total storm snowfall from Nov. 16th through Nov 17. The Kraft Creek SNOTEL located 7.5 mi. southwest of Condon reported 16 of snow with 1.30 of precipitation from 5 pm MST Nov. 15 through 9 am MST Nov. 17. A weather spotter reported 11.5 of total storm snowfall with 8 of that falling on the evening of the 15th through the morning of the 16th.

The Glacier Park International Airport received 3 of total storm snowfall that mainly fell on November 17th. The temperatures on the morning of the 17th ranged from the upper 20s to near 30 degrees F. and road conditions were slick due to the snow in the Kalispell area. Other measured storm snowfall totals include: 3 Columbia Falls, 2.5 8 mi. north of Finley Point, 2 3 mi. east-northeast of Bigfork, 2 5 mi. north of Creston, and 1 4 mi. east-southeast Pablo.

The Bearmouth MTDOT web cam on Interstate 90 at milepost 145.8 indicated snow-covered road conditions for at least 3 hours during the morning hours on Nov. 16. The MacDonald Pass road sensor located at milepost 27.9 on US-12 reported periods of snow between Nov. 16-17 with strong gusty winds to 35 mph. Web cams at MacDonald Pass indicated periods of blowing snow with limited visibility.