Montana, 2014

Heavy Snow in Montana, March 17 to 18, 2014

March 17 to 18, 2014 · NWS BYZ · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

An upper low over Idaho brought an upslope flow resulting in heavy snow to the Beartooth/Absaroka Mountains and adjacent foothills.

Where it happened

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.

  • 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 BYZ wrote it up.

An upper low over Idaho brought an upslope flow resulting in heavy snow to the Beartooth/Absaroka Mountains and adjacent foothills.

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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 8:17 AM MST, 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 8:17 AM MST, 43 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 17, 3:32 AM MST, 5 hours 28 minutes before
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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

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Absarokee / Beartooth Mountains

When
March 17, 9:00 AM MST to March 18, 2:00 AM MST
Where
Absarokee / Beartooth Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
45.550, -109.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Area Snotels reported 12 to 18 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow, Beartooth Foothills

When
March 17, 12:00 PM MST to March 18, 2:00 AM MST
Where
Beartooth Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.742, -109.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall of 5 to 9 inches was reported across the area.

Heavy Snow, Red Lodge Foothills

When
March 17, 12:35 PM MST to March 18, 4:00 AM MST
Where
Red Lodge Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.227, -109.028 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall of 4 to 10 inches along with blizzard like conditions resulted in emergency travel only across portions of Carbon County.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, March 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 505200, 505196, 505199.