Winter Storm in Montana, February 8, 2019

Name: Winter Storm in Montana, February 8, 2019
Start: 2019-02-08T12:00
End: 2019-02-08T23:00
Location: Montana

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

Arctic air once again spilled over the Divide bringing snow, high winds, blowing and drifting snow, along with 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 once again spilled over the Divide bringing snow, high winds, blowing and drifting snow, along with 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, 4:38 AM MST, 7 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 4:38 AM MST, 7 hours 22 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Missoula MT
438 AM MST Fri Feb 8 2019

...SNOW...BLOWING SNOW...VERY COLD WIND CHILL ACROSS NORTHERN
ROCKIES THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...

.DISCUSSION...

A complex and cold storm system will be present over the Northern
Rockies through Saturday night. Snow will be the first weather
element to create hazardous travel conditions through late this
afternoon, particularly across northwest Montana and portions of
north central Idaho. New snow accumulations will be mostly in the
4 to 8 inch range through Saturday, with mountain passes such as
Lookout and Marias pushing 10 inches. Accumulating snow will then
transition to blowing and very cold wind chill this evening along
the Continental Divide, spreading west and southward through
Saturday afternoon. Lesser snow accumulations are anticipated for
west central and southwest Montana, however wind chill will make
up for the lack of snowfall. East winds will gust to 50 mph at
times, particularly along the Divide. Wind chills colder than
minus 40 degrees will create a dangerous situation for those
outdoors. Considering the presence of sub-zero wind chill, exposed
skin will experience frostbite in a matter of minutes! Also, livestock,
particularly newborns, and domestic pets that live outdoors will
be at high risk of exposure in these wind, cold conditions.

By Saturday afternoon, the very cold airmass will begin to lose
its associated gusty winds and snow potential, leaving very cold
temperatures over the Northern Rockies. Saturday afternoon
temperatures will struggle to warm above zero degrees for areas
near the Continental Divide and more interior valleys of western
Montana will not fare much warmer. Partial clearing, recent
snowfall, and very cold high pressure will allow temperatures to
cool well below zero on Saturday night. Elevations below 2000 feet
in north central Idaho may be the only areas where temperatures
will remain well above zero on Saturday night.

The low pressure system that caused the arctic will begin to lift
into the Northern Rockies on Sunday. This low will bring
scattered showers to the region, but also cause the arctic air to
retreat slightly and relax the pressure gradient so not as much
wind. A secondary system swings through the region on Monday, but
the bulk of the energy and moisture associated with this system
appears to go across southern Idaho. The best snowfall should be
across Idaho county and over to southwest Montana on Monday.

This active and cold weather pattern persists through mid week,
then the models diverge for the latter part of the week. The
general consensus is for temperatures to remain 10 to 20 degrees
below normal, but chance of precipitation is uncertain.

&&

.AVIATION...Snow will spread across the Northern Rockies air
space this morning through tonight. Much of the air space north of
KMSO will experience low visibility/ceilings due to snow. KGPI
will be impacted by snow, translating to low visibility and low
ceiling, all the way through at least 10/0000Z. Wind will add to
the snow impact 08/1800Z - 10/0000Z, with northeast winds gusting
over 30 knots at times. East wind will gust over 30 knots for KMSO
08/2100Z - 10/0900Z. KBTM will experience snow and wind at times
through 10/0600Z, with periodic reduction in visibility/ceiling.
Terrain obscurations will be common throughout the air space
during the next 24 hours, particularly along the Continental
Divide.

&&

.MSO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...Winter Weather Advisory until 2 PM MST Saturday Lower Clark Fork
     Region.

     Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon
     Flathead/Mission Valleys...West Glacier Region.

     Winter Storm Watch from this afternoon through Saturday
     afternoon Flathead/Mission Valleys.

     Winter Storm Watch from this afternoon through Saturday
     afternoon West Glacier Region.

     Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon
     Kootenai/Cabinet Region.

     Winter Storm Watch from this afternoon through Saturday
     afternoon Kootenai/Cabinet Region.

     Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon
     Potomac/Seeley Lake Region.

     Winter Storm Watch from this afternoon through Saturday
     afternoon Butte/Blackfoot Region...Potomac/Seeley Lake
     Region.

ID...Winter Weather Advisory until 1 PM PST Saturday Northern
     Clearwater Mountains.

&&

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 8, 8:59 AM MST, 3 hours 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
859 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0700 AM     SNOW             4 ESE PABLO             47.57N 114.04W
02/08/2019  M1.0 INCH        LAKE               MT   COCORAHS

            COCORAHS STATION MT-LK-10, 3 ESE PABLO.

&&

AL

Local storm report, Feb 8, 9:01 AM MST, 2 hours 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
901 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0901 AM     SNOW             1 SW COLUMBIA FALLS     48.36N 114.20W
02/08/2019  M4.0 INCH        FLATHEAD           MT   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

AL

Local storm report, Feb 8, 10:10 AM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1010 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0745 AM     SNOW             1 WSW ROLLINS           47.90N 114.21W
02/08/2019  M1.8 INCH        LAKE               MT   COCORAHS

            COCORAHS STATION MT-LK-11, ROLLINS.

&&

AL

Local storm report, Feb 8, 10:44 AM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1044 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 AM     SNOW             2 S KILA                48.09N 114.46W
02/08/2019  M1.9 INCH        FLATHEAD           MT   COCORAHS

            COCORAHS STATION MT-FH-2, 2 SSW KILA.

&&

AL

Local storm report, Feb 8, 11:21 AM MST, 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1121 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1121 AM     SNOW             COLUMBIA FALLS          48.37N 114.18W
02/08/2019  M4.0 INCH        FLATHEAD           MT   PUBLIC

&&

AL

Local storm report, Feb 8, 11:23 AM MST, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1123 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1123 AM     SNOW             1 SW LA SALLE           48.31N 114.25W
02/08/2019  M3.5 INCH        FLATHEAD           MT   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

AL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, West Glacier Region

When: February 8, 12:00 PM MST to 11:00 PM MST
Where: West Glacier Region forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 47.971, -114.069 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds and widespread snow brought significant drifting of snow and severe driving conditions. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches were common with wind gusts of 20 to 30 miles per hour. Considerable drifting of snow caused great difficulty for snow plows working on U.S. Highway 2.

Winter Storm, Flathead/Mission Valleys

When: February 8, 2:00 PM MST to 11:00 PM MST
Where: Flathead/Mission Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 47.872, -114.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Widespread snow and high winds brought severe driving conditions and significant drifting of snow. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches were common with wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour with Glacier Park International Airport peaking at 51 miles per hour late Friday evening. Considerable drifting of snow led to several stranded vehicles and to the closure of some west to east roads in the Flathead Valley, especially the north end of the valley.

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

Every storm in Montana in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 801235, 801233.