Montana, 2019

Extreme Cold in Montana, February 8 to 10, 2019

February 8 to 10, 2019 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Arctic air continued to spill over the Divide with extremely low wind chills.

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 MSO wrote it up.

Arctic air continued to spill over the Divide with extremely low wind chills.

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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 8, 2:21 PM MST, 4 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 2:21 PM MST, 4 hours 18 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 8, 4:18 PM MST, 2 hours 21 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 8, 5:06 PM MST, 1 hour 33 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 8, 5:26 PM MST, 1 hour 13 minutes before
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Local storm report, Feb 8, 5:47 PM MST, 52 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 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Butte / Blackfoot Region

When
February 8, 6:39 PM MST to February 10, 5:32 AM 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)

Winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour combined with sub-zero temperatures brought wind chills of 25 to 35 degrees below zero. The coldest wind chill was 53 below zero on the morning of the 9th at MacDonald Pass located near 6300 feet.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, West Glacier Region

When
February 9, 4:53 AM MST to February 10, 7:32 AM MST
Where
West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by
RAWS
Coordinates
47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sub-zero temperatures combined with winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour brought wind chills of 30 to 40 degrees below zero in the lower elevations along US-2. The coldest lower elevation wind chill was 39 below zero at Essex on the morning of the 10th with 64 below zero at Snow Slip located near 7000 feet.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, February 2019

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: 801237, 801236.