Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, February 27 to 28, 2014

Name: Blizzard and Winter Storm in Montana, February 27 to 28, 2014
Start: 2014-02-27T10:00
End: 2014-02-28T20:00
Location: Montana

February 27 to 28, 2014 · NWS MSO · 9 events in 8 counties and zones

A moist and warm air mass brought freezing levels up to between 6,000 and 7,000 feet MSL on Feb. 27 and brought freezing rain to western Montana.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $319,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.

A moist and warm air mass brought freezing levels up to between 6,000 and 7,000 feet MSL on Feb. 27 and brought freezing rain to western Montana. Yet another arctic air mass pushed into western Montana and this time there was enough transportable snow to cause blizzard conditions in places. There were reports of severe drifting and severe driving conditions causing an unusually high amount of vehicle slide-offs and accidents. A rare urban avalanche took the life of a 68 year old woman and injured two others in a northern Missoula suburb.

What forecasters said that day

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 27, 4:29 AM MST, 5 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 4:29 AM MST, 5 hours 31 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
429 AM MST Thu Feb 27 2014

...Powerful Winter Storm with Near Blizzard Conditions Tonight
Through Friday Night in Western Montana...

.DISCUSSION...A powerful late winter storm will impact the region
later today through Saturday. This storm will bring about a
variety of major winter impacts to Western Montana. They are:

1. FLASH FREEZE - Impacting Travel this evening & Friday morning
                  commutes.

2. HEAVY SNOW - 4 to 12 inches Tonight and Friday.

   AREAS IMPACTED - West Central Montana 50 miles south and north
   I-90 corridor (Alberton to Deerlodge).

   SPECIFICALLY - Missoula Valley, Southern Mission Valley,
   Seeley/Swan Valley, Highway 93 Missoula to St. Ignatius.

3. Near BLIZZARD CONDITIONS - Tonight through Saturday with SUSTAINED
   EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS 20 to 30 mph for 12-24 hours.

   MAIN AREAS IMPACTED - Flathead and Missoula Valleys, especially
   Badrock and Hellgate Canyons. US 12 Clearwater Junction to
   Macdonald Pass, Marias Pass to Essex.

4. DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS - FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

   Northwest Montana & Continental Divide 15-30 degrees below zero
   West Central Montana - 0 to 15 degrees below Zero

5. FRIGID COLD TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO SATURDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT

The following describes in more detail the upcoming storm:

Today through Sunday Morning...

The increasing southwest flow and associated moisture will bring a
potential for mixed precip and freezing rain this afternoon and
evening which could be both a positive and a negative.
The good: Freezing rain and ice have a harder time accumulating
on surfaces during the day, even when the sky is expected to be
cloudy. The BAD: This will shift a slight chance for freezing
rain into the evening hours where surfaces will have a chance to
quickly lose their heat and potentially become icy, and icy really
quick. Snow overnight on top of this ice will severely impact the
Friday morning commute. The area with a slight chance for freezing
rain will be narrow, but possibly quite significant. The greatest
areas of concern for freezing rain are along I-90 from St. Regis
to Butte, US-93 from Missoula to Hamilton, MT-200 from Ravalli to
Trout Creek and in NW Montana MT-56 (Bull Lake Road) and US-2 from
Libby to Troy.

An arctic air mass poised over central Canada will be invading
western Montana tonight into Friday, eventually moving across
north-central Idaho Friday night. This is an exceptionally cold
air mass which will be ushered into western Montana by very strong
northeast winds. The greatest wind and cold impacts will be
targeting western Montana all the way through the weekend, while
north-central Idaho impacts will mostly be centered around steady
light to occasionally moderate snow.

WIND AND SNOW: Northeast winds will be developing through the gaps of
the Continental Divide late this afternoon, eventually surging
into the northern Flathead valley this evening. Cold easterly
winds will punch through the Blackfoot region tonight, spilling
into the Missoula valley by early Friday morning. Wind speeds
associated with this influx of arctic air will be 25 to 35 mph
sustained with potential gusts in excess of 50 mph locally. The
combination of these winds, lots of light fluffy snow already on
the ground and several inches of new snow will create considerable
blowing and drifting. In fact, local blizzard conditions
(visibilities less an 1/4 mile and roads blocked by snow drifts)
are quite possible through the gaps of the Divide, the northern
Flathead and Missoula valleys.

Speaking of new snow: Models are generating a focused area with
the potential for heavy snow early Friday morning generally 50
miles north and south of the I-90 corridor where an additional 4 to
8, locally up to 12 inches plus are expected. As was the case last
weekend, the heaviest amounts will occur in a narrower region
which we hope to further define over the next 24 hours.

WIND AND COLD: The combination of strong winds and a flood of colder
and colder air into the western Montana will create dangerously low
wind chill values. Initially, nasty wind chills will be confined
along the Continental Divide Thursday night and Friday. However, as
arctic air advances through the rest of western Montana, wind chills
will become a real hazard Friday night through Saturday night. Wind
chill values of 20 below to 40 below zero are possible. Newborn
livestock would be highly vulnerable under these conditions.

NORTH-CENTRAL IDAHO IMPACT: Mountain snow and valley rain can be
expected today through Friday with mountain passes becoming snow-
covered and slick. However, as colder air moves into Idaho, snow
levels will lower to the valley floor Friday night/Saturday. A
westerly flow at the mid/high levels of the atmosphere will
maintain a steady influx of Pacific moisture falling mostly as
light to moderate snow. Accumulating snow is expected at all
elevations making travel difficult. There will also be a threat
for freezing rain during this same time in some of the narrow
valleys of north central Idaho, including portions of US-12
generally from Powell to Lolo Pass, ID-11 from Weippe to Pierce,
Grangemont and along ID-14 to Elk City. The chance for freezing
rain will gradually end Thursday night into Friday morning as
colder air begins its surge across the region.

Next week..

A more westerly flow is expected to develop early next week. This
should direct surges of moisture across north central Idaho and
western Montana. This milder westerly flow should cause
temperatures to gradually moderate. However, there is a lot of
uncertainty in timing of systems/surges of moisture and how quick the
valleys should moderate. Typically (and after every arctic air mass
we have seen this past winter) the forecast model guidance warms
up the valleys much too fast and see no reason it will not happen
again.

&&

.AVIATION...Patchy low stratus in the Bitterroot Valley, Mission
Valley and Camas Prairie will erode early this morning.
Precipitation will be a mix of rain/freezing rain after 27/2000z
and impact all terminals with lowering ceilings and mountain
obscurations. AVIATION OPERATIONS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE
SEVERELY IMPACTED at KGPI, KMSO and KBTM this evening through all
day Friday with near Blizzard conditions at times. Wind gusts of
35-50 mph are expected at KGPI and KMSO. Visibilities less than
1/4 are likely from blowing snow at KGPI, KMSO and KBTM. Heavy
snow, 4-10 inches, is possible at KMSO from 28/0600z through
29/0000z.

&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...WINTER STORM WATCH from this evening through Friday morning
     Butte/Blackfoot Region.

     WINTER STORM WATCH from this evening through Friday morning
     Bitterroot/Sapphire Mountains...Lower Clark Fork Region.

     BLIZZARD WATCH from late tonight through Friday afternoon
     Missoula/Bitterroot Valleys...Potomac/Seeley Lake Region.

     BLIZZARD WATCH from this evening through Friday morning
     Flathead/Mission Valleys...West Glacier Region.

ID...WINTER STORM WATCH from this evening through Friday morning
     Southern Clearwater Mountains.

&&

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 blizzard, 2 winter storm, 2 winter weather, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Lower Clark Fork Region

When: February 27, 10:00 AM MST to February 28, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Lower Clark Fork Region forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 47.286, -114.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Freezing was the first impact to cause black ice on I-90 between St. Regis and Frenchtown with a few accidents reported earlier on Feb. 27. The rain changed to moderate to heavy snow by nightfall. A NWS employee located one mile north of Alberton reported 11 of snow at 5 am MST Feb. 28. Montana DOT reported blowing snow along sections of I-90 from Frenchtown to Alberton and also at Evaro Hill. Other reports include: 9 Evaro and 8 Haugan 1 west.

Winter Weather, Kootenai/Cabinet Region

When: February 27, 3:00 PM MST to February 28, 4:00 PM MST
Where: Kootenai/Cabinet Region forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 48.171, -114.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The COOP located at the Eureka Ranger Station reported 1.1 of snow on Feb. 28. Light snow was reported across the area during this event keeping roads slick at times.

Winter Weather, Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains

When: February 27, 3:00 PM MST to February 28, 7:00 PM MST
Where: Bitterroot / Sapphire Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
Coordinates: 46.508, -113.828 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Montana DOT reported freezing rain from Lolo Pass to Lolo on US-12 during the afternoon on Feb. 27. The Lolo Pass SNOTEL reported around 5 of total snowfall that mainly fell on Feb. 28.

Winter Storm, Butte / Blackfoot Region

When: February 27, 4:00 PM MST to February 28, 10:30 AM MST
Where: Butte / Blackfoot Region forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 46.306, -113.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Freezing rain fell from 4 to 9 pm MST on Feb. 27 along I-90 from Drummond to the Butte area and also along MT-1 from Anaconda to Hall. As the arctic air moved in combined with falling moderate to heavy snow, blowing and severe drifting developed. This contributed to the Montana DOT listing I-90 from Phosphate to Warm Springs, MT-1 Drummond to Hall as Severe Driving conditions from 12 am MST to 10:30 am MST on Feb. 28. It also reported severe driving conditions on I-90 from Gold Creek to Warm Springs from 8 to 11 am MST on March 1. Extreme wind chills to -29 F were reported at 8:24 pm MST 7 miles north of Helmville on Feb. 28. Thirty-eight slide-off and motor vehicle accidents were reported during this event. There were 11 reports of stranded vehicles as well.

Blizzard, West Glacier Region

When: February 28, 2:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where: West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A person from the public in Hungry Horse reported whiteout conditions through Bad Rock Canyon due to blowing and drifting snow. Also extreme wind chills to -21 deg. F were reported from Essex to Marias Pass.

Blizzard, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When: February 28, 2:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where: Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A spotter reported whiteout conditions 2 miles west-southwest of Columbia Falls. Winds were gusting to 50 mph during the event. Their best estimation of the snowfall was 4 inches. Snow bands developed during the day and brought the heaviest snow to the Ronan area where a storm total of 8.5 fell as measured by a weather spotter. The Columbia Falls schools closed on Feb. 28 due to the weather. A weather spotter located 8 miles east-southeast of Rollins reported a wind gust of 53 mph at 10 pm MST on Feb. 28. The Northwestern A divisional basketball tournament in Kalispell was postponed as well. As a side note, freezing rain fell on Feb. 27 between 1 and 4 pm MST from Arlee to Ronan causing slick conditions.

Blizzard, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys

When: February 28, 3:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where: Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 46.560, -114.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A person from the public reported whiteout conditions just to the west of Hellgate Canyon where they estimated wind gusts to 50 mph at times. They had a tough time driving the streets in their four wheel drive vehicle. There were 1 to 2 foot drifts on the streets with up to 9 foot drifts in some parking lots. Numerous businesses delayed opening, and several closed for the day as employees could not make it to work. Many vehicles became stuck and were temporarily abandoned in downtown streets. All public and private schools in Missoula were canceled. The Missoula International Airport storm total snowfall was 9.1 with 0.70 of precipitation. Freezing rain was reported on Feb. 27 from Hamilton to Missoula before it changed to snow by the evening hours. It caused very slick conditions in places, especially side streets. There were numerous motor vehicle slide-offs and accidents reported throughout the event. The Missoula snowfall total for the month of February was 40.2 and became the 2nd highest on record since 1894.

Blizzard, Potomac / Seeley Lake Region

When: February 28, 3:00 AM MST to 10:00 AM MST
Where: Potomac / Seeley Lake Region forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 46.986, -113.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Montana DOT reported high winds, snow, reduced visibility from Bonner to Greenough Hill area. A CoCoRaHS observer in Bonner measured 2.1 of heavy snow that fell in 2 hours ending at 11:30 pm MST on Feb. 27 with a total of 6.2 through 5 am Feb. 28. Other snowfall amounts: 14 Snowbowl Ski area, 9.5 Seeley Lake and 8 1 mile south of Condon. The spotter in Condon reported wind gusts to 30 mph on Feb. 28 with snow falling. The Lindbergh Lake COOP saw 59.7 of snow for the month of February which breaks the previous all-time record of 47 set back in 1966. Records go back to Feb. 1960 for that station.

Avalanche, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys

When: February 28, 4:15 PM MST
Where: Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $319,000
Reported by: Park/Forest Service
Coordinates: 46.560, -114.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Near record snowfall for the month of February and strong easterly winds associated with an arctic air mass intrusion, caused severe wind loading on the western slopes of Mount Jumbo between Feb. 27-28. A snowboarder triggered a hard slab avalanche on a west facing, 35 degree slope of Mount Jumbo during the late afternoon of Feb. 28. The snowboarder was caught and carried for several yards before he was able to get out by himself. The avalanche traveled at approximately 80 to 100 mph and caught two children, ages 8 and 10, who were playing in their backyard as it slammed into and destroyed a two story wood frame home built in 1975. One child was partially buried up to their armpits but not injured while the other was completely buried under 3 feet of snow. This child was later rescued, taken to the hospital and sustained only minor injuries. The two residents of the destroyed home, a 66 year old male and his 68 year old wife were inside their home when it was hit and both were buried under several feet of snow and debris. Live power lines and broken natural gas lines complicated the rescue. The 66 year old male was rescued, had multiple injuries and lived. The 68 year old wife was rescued, but later died on March 3 from traumatic injuries. Three rental homes, 8 vehicles and an apartment building were also damaged by the avalanche. The avalanche width was 658 ft., depth was 2.5 to 4 ft. and the distance that it traveled from crown to terminus was 2,200 ft. Information courtesy of the West Central Montana Avalanche Center. The National Weather Service Missoula calculated a rough property damage estimate of $319K.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Avalanche, Missoula / Bitterroot Valleys	2014-03-03	68	Female	Permanent Home	Direct

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
Avalanche: A mass of snow sliding down a mountainside that caused a death, an injury or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Montana in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, February 2014

Sources

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: 504945, 504942, 504949, 504948, 504943, 504944, 504946, 504947, 505074.