Moderating temperatures led to snowmelt flooding in many valleys of Broadwater County toward the middle of March.
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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.
Moderating temperatures led to snowmelt flooding in many valleys of Broadwater County toward the middle of March.
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 Mar 10, 9:55 AM MST, 4 hours 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 955 AM MST Sat Mar 10 2018 ...Aviation Section Updated... .UPDATE... Morning update has been published, with only minor changes made to high temperatures for today and hourlies. Skies will continue to clear throughout the daylight hours today, as upper level ridging builds into the Northern Rockies. While temperatures will not be as warm as they were yesterday, bountiful areas of sunshine should be observed this afternoon as the ridge moves overhead. Given decreasing wind speeds throughout the day (which will limit mixing) and antecedent snow pack, lowered high temperatures a couple of degrees to around the latest short-term guidance. - Moldan && .SYNOPSIS... A few morning snow showers are possible over the Little Belt mountains, otherwise expect sunny skies to develop over much of the region today, as an upper level ridge of high pressure begins to build over the region. Afternoon temperatures will be a bit below normal today, but temperatures will rise to above normal readings by early next week. Little to no precipitation is expected over the entire region Sunday through Tuesday. && .AVIATION... Updated 1655Z. Upper level ridging will continue to build in across the Northern Rockies today, bringing with it clearing skies and VFR conditions to all of Southwest and North Central Montana during the daylight hours today. VFR conditions are then expected to persist during the overnight hours at most locations, however, developing fog near the KCTB and KHVR terminals around 03z and 06z respectively may reduce visibilities to IFR. Given clear skies and light winds expected during the overnight hours, confidence is moderate to high that this fog will develop across portions of the North Central Montana plains. Confidence in how low visibilities may fall remains low at this time however. - Moldan && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 409 AM MST Sat Mar 10 2018/ Today...Light snow is diminishing around Lewistown, while one last area of upslope snow continues to affect the Little Belt and Highwood mountains. An additional inch or two of snowfall is possible in this region before mid morning. With severe driving being reported overnight in portions of these regions, I extended the winter weather advisory for portions of Cascade/Judith Basin counties until 7 AM. Otherwise, expect gradually clearing skies over the remainder of the region today, as afternoon temperatures will be slightly cooler than Friday. For Sunday through Tuesday, with an upper level ridge of high pressure building over the region, expect no precipitation along with a gradual warming trend over the entire region. Afternoon highs will be above normal in many areas by Monday. I did raise temperatures over the model blend, closer to the raw MEX numbers. For Wednesday/Thursday...expect the flow aloft to remain out of the southwest, as the upper level ridge begins to break down by Thursday. Afternoon temperatures will remain mild on Wednesday, then cool down a touch for Thursday. As the ridge breaks down, upper level disturbance are expected to move up into Southwest MT, bringing with it a chance for rain/snow Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. The 00z GFS is quite aggressive with the precipitation on Thursday over Central and Southwest MT, and this will be watched closely over the next few days. For Friday/Saturday...as the upper level ridge breaks down and an upper level trof develops over the region, afternoon temperatures will cool to below normal readings. Additionally, kept pops close to climo pops for this period, as the upper level trof will result in a slightly unstable environment. Brusda && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF 37 16 44 19 / 10 0 0 0 CTB 33 11 39 14 / 0 0 0 0 HLN 40 16 45 22 / 0 0 0 0 BZN 39 11 45 19 / 0 0 0 0 WEY 34 3 41 11 / 0 0 0 0 DLN 37 12 43 18 / 0 0 0 0 HVR 31 9 35 11 / 0 0 0 0 LWT 34 15 46 21 / 20 0 0 0 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Advisory until further notice for Minor Flooding in Poor Drainage Areas for Snowmelt for Broadwater County. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
921 AM MST SAT MAR 10 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0919 AM SNOW 7 SSE NEIHART 46.84N 110.70W
03/10/2018 M3.0 INCH MEAGHER MT TRAINED SPOTTER
24 HOUR SNOWFALL TOTAL AT THE SHOWDOWN SKI
AREA. MOST OF WHICH FELL YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH THIS MORNING. ELEVATION 6800 FEET.
&&
MARTINPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1214 PM MST SAT MAR 10 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1213 PM SNOW 11 S LEWISTOWN 46.91N 109.41W
03/10/2018 M3.0 INCH FERGUS MT CO-OP OBSERVER
24 HOUR TOTAL ENDING AT 6 AM.
&&
MARTINSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service Great Falls MT 220 PM MST Sat Mar 10 2018 MTZ010>013-044>047-049>051-110300- Eastern Glacier-Hill-Cascade-Chouteau-Toole-Liberty- Eastern Pondera-Blaine-Eastern Teton-Judith Basin-Fergus- Including the cities of Cut Bank, Santa Rita, Havre, Rocky Boy, Great Falls, Floweree, Carter, Fort Benton, Devon, Shelby, Ethridge, Galata, Chester, Joplin, Lothair, Whitlash, Brady, Conrad, Ledger, Chinook, Lloyd, Zurich, Harlem, Hogeland, Hays, Lodge Pole, Fairfield, Dutton, Power, Raynesford, Geyser, Stanford, Windham, Benchland, Hobson, Moccasin, Hilger, and Lewistown 220 PM MST Sat Mar 10 2018 ...Slippery Elevated Surfaces and Reduced Visibilities Tonight... Freezing fog is expected to develop tonight across portions of North Central Montana, especially in low lying areas and river valleys. Visibilities could fall to as low as a half of a mile at times, especially along the Hi-Line. In addition, elevated surfaces such as bridges, overpasses, and decks may become slippery. If traveling this evening or during the morning hours on Sunday, be prepared for reductions in visibility and slick spots due to light ice accumulations. Slow down, use you headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you. Moldan
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Broadwater County Emergency Manager reported widespread snowmelt flooding for valley locations in the county. Water was entering basements of some homes. Some roadways were flooded too.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, March 2018
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: 760626.