High Wind and Winter Weather in Montana, November 7 to 8, 2013

The ITD Lolo Pass sensor reported snow that changed to freezing rain by 5:38 am MST which continued until 9:40 am on Nov. 7th. When the cold front moved through around 7 pm, it reported heavy snow which changed to light snow by 7:53 pm. The Lolo Pass SNOTEL reported a precipitation total of 1.20, but its snow depth sensor was not working properly to be able to determine snowfall totals. Of that precipitation total, 0.50 fell after the cold front went through, so at least 5 of snowfall is possible at Lolo Pass. Lost Trail Pass reported periods of snow starting at 5:30 am MST and continued through 4:30 am MST on the 8th. The ITD sensor reported dense fog between 1:30 and 7:30 pm MST on the 7th. The Saddle Mountain SNOTEL located 1 mile west of Lost Trail reported a storm total snowfall of 6 inches.

Snow began just before rush hour on Thursday November 7th across portions of Lincoln County. MTDOT at Crystal Creek, about 20 miles south of Libby on US-2, reported an estimated 2.5 of snow before changing to snow by later Thursday morning. A weather spotter located 8 mi. north of Eureka reported 1.5 of snow. At 6:50 am MST on Nov. 7th, MTDOT reported that US-2 from Marion to Libby was slick and MT-56 was snow-packed.

MTDOT reported freezing rain from Swamp Creek Hill (mile-marker 24 on MT-200) or 1 mile east-southeast of Tuscor at 6:50 am MST on Nov. 7th. On Nov. 7th, Lookout Pass on I-90 saw snow briefly change to freezing rain by 9:27 am MST before changing to all rain by 10 am. Lookout Pass saw a change back to snow by 4:38 pm MST on the 7th and continued through 11:52 am MST on the 8th.

The West Glacier COOP observer reported 2.7 of snowfall with 0.71 of precipitation for November 7th. The MTDOT road sensor at Essex reported steady snow for much of the day on the 7th and was intermittent on the 8th. The web cam at Essex depicted snow-covered conditions at 10:46 am on the 7th. The only period that saw above freezing road surface temperatures on US-2 at Essex was between 1 pm and 5:28 pm MST on the 7th. Flattop Mountain SNOTEL (6,300 ft.), located 20 miles east-northeast of Polebridge reported a storm total precipitation of 1.30. The Pike Creek SNOTEL (5,930 ft.), located near Marias Pass reported 6 of snow from 6 pm MST on the 7th to 5 pm MST on the 8th.

Glacier Park International Airport reported 1 of snowfall with 0.40 of precipitation between Nov. 7-8. With ground temperatures at or just below freezing on the morning of November 7th, roads became slick with the light snowfall. There were 6 vehicle accidents and 4 slideoffs reported in the Flathead Valley from 7 am to 9:32 am MST on Nov. 7th. The Flathead County dispatch reported that many of the accidents were as a result of the slick conditions caused by the snow. The MTDOT road reports at 8:47 am MST on Nov. 7th indicated that MT-35 from Yellow Bay to S-206 Jct., and Kalispell to Whitefish had snowcover.

The Little Rock Creek RAWS (5,507 ft. elevation) located 4.3 miles west-northwest of Darby reported a gust to 59 mph between 7:09 pm and 8:09 pm MST on November 7th. The Ravalli County sheriff reported power lines down in Darby (3,885 ft. elevation) due to strong winds. The Deer Mountain RAWS located 6 miles east of Darby at 7,282 ft., reported a wind gust to 57 mph between 8:06 pm and 9:06 pm MST on Nov. 7th.

The Anaconda AWOS located 4 miles east-northeast of the city of Anaconda reported a high wind gust of 60 mph associated with a cold front passage at 9 pm MST on Nov. 7th. The Deer Lodge County sheriff dispatch reported several trees and power lines down on the west side of Anaconda. A tree fell onto a power line near the intersection of Mt. Haggin Dr. and Theater Lane and started a fire. This location is approximately 2.5 miles west-northwest of Anaconda. There was a power outage which lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes.

A cold front brought rain that changed to snow with strong gusty winds at MacDonald Pass on US-12 at milepost 27.9 around 9:14 pm MST on November 7th. Winds gusted as high as 42 mph with the frontal passage, but continued to be blustery between 20 and 41 mph through the night into the morning of November 8th. With the combination of relative humidity levels at one hundred percent and falling snow with strong winds, the visibility could have been near zero from 9:14 to 10:46 pm MST on Nov. 7th. Blowing snow was not an impact due to the wet snow, but road conditions remained slick through the morning of the 8th. Other locations affected by the cold front include Georgetown Lake, Butte and Homestake Pass. These areas saw light accumulation of snow on the road with strong gusty winds between 30 and 40 mph.