Montana, 2018

Winter Storm in Montana, November 16, 2018

November 16, 2018 · NWS MSO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Intense snow showers developed over an arctic cold front leading to numerous traffic accidents on Interstate 90.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 MSO wrote it up.

Intense snow showers developed over an arctic cold front leading to numerous traffic accidents on Interstate 90.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Butte / Blackfoot Region

When
November 16, 1:30 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where
Butte / Blackfoot Region forecast zone
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
46.306, -113.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy showers brought 1 to 3 inches of snow along the Interstate 90 corridor throughout the afternoon hours. Snow partially melted and packed on to the roadway as ice when temperatures dropped into the teens behind a cold front. The presence of abundant ice and reduced visibility led to numerous traffic accidents.

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 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, November 2018

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: 790199.