Persistent snowfall brings slick roads at times across central Idaho due to moist Pacific flow overrunning the cooler air mass at the surface.
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 MSO wrote it up.
Persistent snowfall brings slick roads at times across central Idaho due to moist Pacific flow overrunning the cooler air mass at the surface.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 21, 1:53 PM PST, 10 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
253 PM MST Fri Feb 21 2014
...HEAVY SNOW (6+INCHES) IN WESTERN MONTANA VALLEYS SUNDAY & MONDAY...
.DISCUSSION...Snow bands continue to pester western Montana this
afternoon bringing periods of heavy snow showers lowering
visibilities. The main impacts to these showers will be over
mountain passes where snow is sticking. These showers should begin
to dissipate by mid evening. Once the sun sets and temperatures
lower the wet roadways may quickly freeze causing hazardous travel
through Saturday morning.
THE BIG STORY this weekend will be AN INCREASING CONFIDENCE FOR
HEAVY SNOW SUNDAY AND MONDAY. The major impact from this snow will
occur in most valleys of western Montana and parts of central
Idaho. Cold arctic air will spill across the continental divide
and interact with relatively warmer and moist air to our west.
This is a classic or textbook weather pattern for heavy snow in
the valleys of western Montana. A boundary separating very cold
air to the north and wetter, warmer air to the southwest will
develop over central Idaho late Saturday. This boundary will
move north and expand across western Montana persisting for 24 to
36 hours over the region.
CONFIDENCE IS INCREASING FOR WIDESPREAD SNOW AMOUNTS OF 6-12
INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL MONTANA.
This type of system has produced very localized heavy snow,
sometimes only 20 miles wide, with amounts up to 2 feet in about
24 hours. Confidence in such extreme amounts is low but not out of
the equation. Because of this winter storm watches have been
issued.
Tuesday will remain cold and showery with while the boundary that
causes the heavy snow washes out and weakens. By Tuesday night,
dry air moves into the region under a weak ridge and clears out
the clouds. Clear skies, dry air, and a deep snow pack with light
winds will cause very cold conditions Wednesday morning in western
Montana with temperatures around or below zero degrees. Central
Idaho will be spared from this unusual cold weather.
Please stay tuned to www.nws.gov/missoula and our twitter
feed @NWSMissoula for updates and current information.
&&
.AVIATION...Snow bands will continue through the afternoon and
taper off this evening. Visibility less than a mile and ceilings
under 2000 feet are likely directly under snow bands with
conditions improving rapidly as you move away from the bands.
Expect frequent and changing mountain obscurations. Bands will not
be stationary, so expect rapidly changing conditions at area
terminals, especially KMSO, KGPI, and KBTM.
&&
.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WINTER STORM WATCH from Saturday afternoon through Monday
morning Bitterroot/Sapphire Mountains...Butte/Blackfoot
Region...Flathead/Mission Valleys...Lower Clark Fork
Region...Missoula/Bitterroot Valleys...Potomac/Seeley Lake
Region.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 4 PM MST this afternoon for Lolo
Pass and Lost Trail Pass IN THE Bitterroot/Sapphire
Mountains.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 4 PM MST this afternoon for I-90
Lookout Pass to Haugan IN THE Lower Clark Fork Region.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 4 PM MST this afternoon for
MacDonald Pass IN THE Butte/Blackfoot Region.
ID...WINTER STORM WATCH from Saturday afternoon through Monday
morning Eastern Lemhi County...Northern Clearwater
Mountains...Southern Clearwater Mountains.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 4 PM MST /3 PM PST/ this afternoon
for Lolo Pass and Lost Trail Pass IN THE Eastern Lemhi
County...Southern Clearwater Mountains.
&&
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https://www.facebook.com/US.NationalWeatherService.Missoula.gov
https://www.twitter.com/NWSMissoulaThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The CoCoRaHS observer located 0.4 southwest of Grangeville reported a four day storm snow total of 11.6 with 1.31 of precipitation. Other snowfall amounts include: 6 at the Fenn Ranger Station and 8 two miles west-southwest of Cottonwood.
The COOP located one mile north of Dixie measured a three day total snowfall of 16.9 with 1.21 of precipitation.
The COOP located one mile south-southeast of Headquarters reported a three day snowfall total of 13.1 with 1.57 of precipitation. The COOP in Pierce observed 8.6 of snowfall with 1.75 of precipitation.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, February 2014
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: 504860, 504858, 504859.