Montana, 2016

Winter Storm in Montana, November 28 to 30, 2016

November 28 to 30, 2016 · NWS GGW · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A wet and progressive storm system from the Pacific Northwest combined with a push of colder air from the Canadian Rockies to produce accumulating and blowing snow across portions of northeast Montana.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
2

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 GGW wrote it up.

A wet and progressive storm system from the Pacific Northwest combined with a push of colder air from the Canadian Rockies to produce accumulating and blowing snow across portions of northeast Montana.

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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 28, 2:59 PM MST, 7 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 2:59 PM MST, 7 hours 1 minute before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 28, 3:22 AM MST, 18 hours 38 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

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Richland

When
November 28, 10:00 PM MST to November 30, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Richland forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
47.788, -104.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Co-operative observers and trained spotters across most of Richland County reported 5 to 6 inches of new snowfall with the greatest amounts over the Big Sheep Mountains.

Winter Storm, Dawson

When
November 28, 10:00 PM MST to November 30, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Dawson forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
47.266, -104.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained spotter in northwest Dawson County reported 7 inches of new snowfall.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, November 2016

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: 661851, 661852.