A cold front settling south into Southwest Montana combined with a couple of upper level disturbances led to widespread, impactful snow across the area, especially along the I-90 corridor through Bozeman and the I-15 corridor through Helena.
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 TFX wrote it up.
A cold front settling south into Southwest Montana combined with a couple of upper level disturbances led to widespread, impactful snow across the area, especially along the I-90 corridor through Bozeman and the I-15 corridor through Helena.
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 Great Falls, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 4:56 PM MST, 14 hours 4 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>4 winter storm, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
MDT reports numerous accidents in the Bozeman area on Jan 31st. Multiple semis stuck on off ramp on I-90 west bound at mile marker 298.
MDT reports a multi-vehicle accident on the south side of Helena. MT Highway Patrol reports several crashes in the Helena area, especially along I-15. MDT reports driving lane of I-15 closed due to accident just before Wolf Creek Canyon.
NBC Montana reports first responders in Bozeman answered dozens of calls due to weather conditions. Numerous accidents from fender benders to more serious crashes are being reported. Multiple vehicles spun out at Exit 298 on I-90 and are facing the wrong way.
Google traffic maps show slower traffic all along I-90 from Butte to Livingston. In Bozeman, traffic maps show several accidents and slower traffic around town.
Five to eight inches of snow reported by various sources throughout the Bozeman area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, January 2017
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: 671156, 671160, 671168, 671169, 671170.