Extreme Cold and Winter Weather in Montana, February 3 to 7, 2014

The spotter located 2.7 miles north-northeast of Evaro measured 5 of snow. The Montana Highway Patrol reported an 8 motor vehicle pile-up on the bridge that crosses the Clark Fork River, 3 miles west of Tarkio on I-90 around 12 pm MST. It was reported that whiteout conditions and slick conditions contributed to the accidents that caused a three mile traffic jam that lasted for 3 hours. One person was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Other snowfall amounts include: 8 Lookout Pass Ski Resort, 5 Thompson Falls and 3.5 9 miles northwest of Thompson Falls.

A trained spotter located in Columbia Falls reported brief episodes of near white-outs, blowing snow with northeast winds gusting to 27 mph during the early morning hours of Feb. 3. The Polson COOP observed 3 of snow on Feb. 3, which according to the DOT fell mainly during the early morning hours. Easterly winds over 40 mph were observed by the Flathead Lake Biological Station Yellow Bay Point sensor on the morning of Feb. 3. Other snowfall amounts include: 4 Ronan and 3 Arlee.

The Bert Mooney Airport ASOS located south of Butte reported wind chills below -20 F from early morning on Feb. 4 through the morning of Feb. 7 with the coldest wind chill value of -50 deg. F observed around 6:53 am MST on Feb. 6. The MT DOT sensor located 8 miles north of Avon on Highway 141, measured a wind chill of -59 deg. F from 7:45 am through 8:16 am MST on Feb. 6. Also a wind chill of -57 F was observed in Elliston via the mesonet. The Discovery ski area closed due to the extreme cold between Feb. 5-6. The coldest minimum temperatures recorded during this period were: -37 F 3 miles west of Deer Lodge, -36 F Philipsburg and Bert Mooney Airport, -34 F Anaconda and Elliston.

The Seeley Lake Ranger Station COOP recorded low temperatures in the mid-20s below zero Fahrenheit for 4 days straight. The coldest low temperature recorded was -41 deg. F on the morning of Feb. 6. This COOP also observed its coldest maximum temperature of -1 on Feb. 6 which broke the all-time February coldest maximum temperature of 2 degrees set back on Feb. 8, 1994, since records began in Oct. of 1936. The Snowbowl ski area closed down due to a power outage and dangerous wind chills between Feb. 4-5. The Point 6 RAWS sensor at 7,905 ft., recorded a wind chill of -63 deg. F at 7:59 am MST on Feb. 5. Other coldest minimum temperatures include: -37 Potomac, -34 F Condon, -33 F Greenough Hill, -32 F Condon and -31 F 3 miles northeast of Bonner.

The MT DOT sensor located at milepost 179.9 on US-2 near Essex recorded a wind chill of -47 deg. F at 8:02 am MST Feb. 6. The air temperature was -21.5 and the wind was 14.9 mph from the south-southeast direction. The HADS sensor at Marias Pass measured an air temperature of -40 deg. F at 6:15 am MST on Feb. 6.

Lookout Pass Ski Resort shut down due to the extreme cold between Feb. 4-5. During this period the Mullan Pass ASOS recorded wind chill values as low as -42 deg. F. On the morning of Feb. 6, a COOP observer in Alberton recorded a low of -22 deg. F while the COOP located one mile west of Haugan recorded -28 deg. F.

The Ronan Airport AWOS recorded a low temperature of -38 deg. F at 5:15 am MST on Feb. 6, and a power outage was reported in Ronan. The Glacier Park International Airport located north of Kalispell saw extreme wind chills between Feb. 4-6 and saw its coldest wind chill reading of -30 at 5:55 am MST Feb. 6. The Polson Kerr Dam COOP recorded -22 on Feb. 6, which makes it the coldest all-time temperature for the month of February since records began in March 1951. Other low temperatures recorded include: -42 St. Ignatius 5 north, -28 St. Ignatius, -24 Whitefish, and -23 Creston. On Feb. 5, the Bigfork school districts closed due to dangerous wind chills. On Feb. 6, the St. Ignatius schools closed due to extreme cold and wind chills.

The Missoula International Airport ASOS reported wind chills less than -20 deg. F during this period. The coldest wind chill reading recorded was -37 deg. F at 8:53 am MST on Feb. 6 when the temperature was -23 and wind was 4.6 mph. On the morning of Feb. 6, a power outage occurred on the east side of Florence where minimum temperatures had reached -32 deg. F. The Stevensville school district closed due to power outages caused by the extreme cold. The Stevensville COOP recorded a low temperature of -21 on Feb. 6.

The COOP observer located 30 miles south-southeast of Libby at 3,440 ft., recorded a low temperature of -40 deg. F on the morning of Feb. 6. This breaks the all-time coldest temperature for the month of February for this station since continuous records began in June 1949. The previous record was -39 set back on Feb. 2, 1996. Other low temperatures include: -34 Olney and -29 Yaak 9 NNE. During the first surge of arctic air on Jan. 3, 2 to 4 inches of snow fell along US-2 from Libby to Kila causing slick roads.

The COOP observer located 14 miles northeast of Sula measured a minimum temperature of -39 deg. F while a weather spotter in Sula reported -41 degrees on Feb. 6.