As a prolonged cold spell continued, a renewed ice jam and associated flooding affected the Ennis area. In addition, a separate ice jam and related flooding developed along the Gallatin River, near Logan.
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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.
As a prolonged cold spell continued, a renewed ice jam and associated flooding affected the Ennis area. In addition, a separate ice jam and related flooding developed along the Gallatin River, near Logan.
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 Feb 25, 4:50 PM MST, 8 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Great Falls MT 450 PM MST Mon Feb 25 2019 ...Update to Aviation... .SYNOPSIS... Snow will continue over north-central, central, and southwest Montana through the overnight tonight. Snow retreats back to southwest Montana during the day Tuesday, before moving back into at least central Montana Wednesday. Additional snow will be possible Thursday through Friday. A cold airmass remains in place over all but far southwest portions of the state and very low wind chill values are expected at times across much of north- central Montana through Tuesday. && .DISCUSSION... Rest of this Afternoon through Tuesday Night...Observations, including webcams, radar, indicate snow intensity continuing to increase through the afternoon into the overnight, with the next 12 to 18 hours seeing the bulk of the heavier snowfall. Favorable position of upper level jet energy will support some areas of moderate snow intensity this afternoon and evening across central MT before the upper level energy moves off to the east Tuesday morning and the area of snow collapses back to the south by Tuesday afternoon. The main area of uncertainty with regard to snow accumulation forecasts continues to be snow/crystal type and resulting snow to liquid ratios. Snow ratios should be greatest over SW MT but decrease to the north as the cold airmass deepens and is less supportive of dendritic (classic snowflake) growth. Expect additional impacts to roadways and travel today as snow accumulates, on top of an already significant snowpack with lessening space available for snow removal/storage. The cold airmass remains in place across all but far SW MT (Arctic frontal boundary is S of Dillon and Ennis but not to the ID border) and is likely to change little today and tonight. NE winds of 10-15 mph at times will continue to produce wind chill values of 20 below zero or colder for much of central and north-central MT today through Tuesday. There is some potential for wind chill values to reach 40 below zero for a period Tuesday morning across NW portions of the forecast area and this will need to be monitored for additional wind chill highlights if this threshold is reached. Wednesday through Monday...Snow chances increase from the southwest through the day Wednesday as moisture associated with an offshore low pressure system begins to move into Montana. Snow may briefly stop in some places Thursday, but looks to pick back up again through Friday. Chances for snow diminish later Saturday and look fairly hit-or-miss through the remainder of the forecast. Most likely higher terrain may see some light snow but lower elevations do not appear to get anything overly significant at this time. Cold air generally remains in place, with temperatures moderating slightly Thursday ahead of the next Arctic cold front moving in Friday, with bitter cold temperatures to result through the weekend, especially for overnight lows. Overall a west northwest flow remains early next week, keeping overall conditions relatively unchanged. && .AVIATION... Updated 450 PM MST Mon Feb 25 2019 Widespread snow will continue to affect much of the forecast area with LIFR/IFR conditions prevailing at most terminals overnight. Conditions will slowly improve from north to south after 12Z Tuesday. Some clearing is possible at the northern-most terminals by mid to late afternoon. mpj && .HYDROLOGY... Emergency management reports flooding from an ice jam on the Madison River near Ennis has spilled water over the U.S. Highway 287. A flood warning has been issued for this stretch of river until further notice. Ice jamming on the Missouri River south of the City of Cascade has caused minor flooding to develop across portions of Southwest Cascade County. This minor flooding has led to the closure of Sheep Creek Road. With continued cold temperatures in the forecast, a flood advisory is in effect for the this region until further notice. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GTF -15 -6 -17 9 / 100 60 10 60 CTB -18 -4 -19 16 / 100 50 10 20 HLN -11 0 -8 14 / 100 80 30 80 BZN -4 8 -2 22 / 80 80 70 90 WEY 28 34 27 33 / 100 100 100 100 DLN 10 21 7 31 / 60 70 70 70 HVR -15 -3 -27 6 / 100 80 10 10 LWT -13 -5 -15 12 / 100 80 10 50 && .TFX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until 11 AM MST Tuesday Broadwater... Central and Southern Lewis and Clark...Jefferson...Meagher. Winter Weather Advisory until 11 AM MST Tuesday Blaine... Chouteau...Eastern Glacier...Eastern Pondera...Eastern Teton... Hill...Liberty...Northern Rocky Mountain Front...Southern Rocky Mountain Front...Toole. Winter Storm Warning until 5 PM MST Tuesday Beaverhead... Gallatin...Madison. Winter Storm Warning until 11 AM MST Tuesday Cascade...Fergus... Judith Basin. Flood Warning until further notice for the Madison River near Ennis in Madison County. Flood Advisory until further notice for the Missouri River in Cascade County. && http://www.weather.gov/greatfalls
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1142 AM MST MON FEB 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1142 AM SNOW CANYON CREEK 46.81N 112.27W
02/25/2019 M3.0 INCH LEWIS AND CLARK MT TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
JAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1150 AM MST MON FEB 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1148 AM SNOW 4 N EAST HELENA 46.65N 111.93W
02/25/2019 M5.0 INCH LEWIS AND CLARK MT TRAINED SPOTTER
24 HOUR SNOWFALL TOTAL. STILL SNOWING.
VISIBILITY LESS THAN A MILE. MEDIUM SIZED
FLAKES.
&&
JAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREAT FALLS MT
1157 AM MST MON FEB 25 2019
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1156 AM SNOW 8 SE ULM 47.35N 111.39W
02/25/2019 M1.0 INCH CASCADE MT TRAINED SPOTTER
1.0 INCH MEASURED WITH 0.16 INCHES LIQUID
WATER EQUIVALENT.
&&
CCThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Madison County Disaster and Emergency Services reported renewed flooding from an ice jam along the Madison River. Floodwater was flowing across the US-287 bridge just east-southeast of downtown Ennis. Exact duration of flooding unknown.
Gallatin County Sheriff's Office reported ice jam-related flooding on the Gallatin River, near Logan. Rising floodwaters led to evacuation of at least one residence. Exact duration of flooding unknown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2019
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: 801208, 801209.