An upper level Low tracked through southern Montana. An inverted trough on the northwest side of this feature caused significant snow to fall over Eastern Montana and North Dakota.
Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 GGW wrote it up.
An upper level Low tracked through southern Montana. An inverted trough on the northwest side of this feature caused significant snow to fall over Eastern Montana and North Dakota. Strong winds from the pressure gradient of this storm caused widespread blizzard conditions.
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 Glasgow, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 2:37 AM MST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Glasgow MT 337 AM MDT Tue Apr 12 2022 .DISCUSSION... ...An historic and dangerous late season winter storm on the way... As the storm system approaches the region, winds have picked up across eastern Montana. Snow has been slower to move into the area, spreading into the southwest zones early this morning. Some continuing minor adjustments to the forecast including qpf and snow amounts as the storm continues to shift slightly to the north, but not much of significance. Considered adding Garfield county to the Blizzard Warning, but held off as strong winds early this morning expected to diminish somewhat once the snow moves into the region. Maintained all current Warnings and Advisories with little change to the overall timing and snow totals. Previous discussion: The 12z ensemble mean and deterministic guidance have all shifted north with the low track relative to recent model guidance. A couple of solutions in particular show a retrograding low stalling over central ND before pulling away from the region by Thursday. That said, there are quite a few ensemble members that remain on a more southern trajectory, so confidence further to the north and west remains below average. The bottom line, the axis of heavier snowfall has shifted slightly to the northwest from the previous forecast. Mesoscale detail will be more easily represented within 24 hours of the start time of the event, and so additional tweaks to the forecast are expected, but for now the overall trends have been toward increasing snowfall amounts for much of the area. Even if lighter snowfall amounts materialize, impacts will still be greater than usual due to the expected wind gusts, especially closer to the low pressure area on the eastern flank of the CWA. Additionally, being so late in the season, that alone will drive larger impacts. In a nutshell, an historic and dangerous winter storm is now expected for the region as the Colorado low tracks into the Dakotas through the next several days, delivering widespread impacts to travel, livestock, and area activities. Look for widespread north winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 to 45 mph at times, wind chills near zero at times across all of NE Montana. Close to the track of the low, snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour are expected at times, especially Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night, with wrap around snow continuing on Wednesday. This is most likely to occur along the I-94 corridor from Terry to Glendive, northeast to Sidney, and surrounding areas. Further to the northwest, snowfall amounts will be lower, but combined wind and cold wind chills will still drive high impacts. Headline decisions included shifting everything slightly northwest, keeping in line with the latest trends. Sheridan, Eastern Roosevelt, and McCone Counties have been added to the Blizzard Warning. Daniels County was added to the Winter Storm Warning. Northern Phillips has been added to the Winter Weather Advisory. Timing has been consolidated some among the headlines but overall remains similar to the previous forecast cycle. Beyond Thursday, the forecast was largely trended toward consensus model blends given the focus on the high impact winter storm over the short and medium term. Currently, ensembles point to a gradual warm up late in the week into the weekend, once the current impending storm clears the region. && .AVIATION... Flight conditions will deteriorate on through the day as an intensifying low pressure system moves into the region. Look for heavy snow and blowing snow leading to MVFR to IFR ceilings and visibilities across area terminals, though conditions down to LIFR or worse are possible at times from KSDY to KGDV where blizzard conditions are expected at times. && .GLASGOW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until noon MDT Wednesday for Central and Southeast Phillips...Central and Southern Valley...Northern Phillips...Northern Valley. Winter Storm Warning until noon MDT Wednesday for Southwest Phillips. Winter Storm Warning from noon today to 10 PM MDT Wednesday for Daniels...Western Roosevelt. Blizzard Warning from noon today to 10 PM MDT Wednesday for Eastern Roosevelt...Sheridan. Blizzard Warning until 10 PM MDT Wednesday for Dawson...McCone... Prairie...Richland...Wibaux. Winter Storm Warning until noon MDT Wednesday for Petroleum. Winter Storm Warning until 10 PM MDT Wednesday for Garfield. && weather.gov/glasgow
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 heavy snow, 6 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Public reported, via Facebook, an estimated 10.0 inches of snow at 10 W Carlyle. Times are estimated.
Snowfall amounts in central and southern Valley County ranged from 2.0 to 6.0 inches. The greatest amount of 6.0 inches was reported by the public at 13 N Hell Creek Rec Area. Times are estimated.
Public reported an estimated 8.0 inches of snowfall at 1 N Culbertson. Times are estimated.
Snowfall amounts across Richland County ranged from 9.0 to 18.0 inches. The greatest amount of 18.0 inches was reported by the public, via Facebook, in Crane. Times are estimated.
Snowfall amounts across Prairie County ranged from 10.0 to 14.0 inches. The greatest amount of 14.0 inches was reported by the public, via Facebook, at 9 SSE Watkins. Times are estimated.
A trained spotter reported an estimated 12.0 inches of snowfall in Zortman. Times are estimated.
Snowfall amounts across Petroleum County ranged from 6.0 to 8.0 inches with drifts estimated to be 2 to 3 feet. The greatest amount of 8.0 inches was reported by a trained spotter at 1 ESE Flatwilliow. Times are estimated.
Snowfall amounts across McCone County ranged from 3.0 to 8.0 inches. The greatest amount of 8.0 inches was reported by the public, via Facebook, at 5 SE Vida. Times are estimated.
Snowfall amounts across Garfield County ranged from 4.0 to 10.0 inches. The greatest amount of 10.0 inches was reported by the public, via Facebook, at 3 W Brusett as well as in Cohagen. Times are estimated.
A trained spotter reported 1/4 mile visibility or less, sometimes down to only 90 yards, at 8 NNE Lindsay. Snow drifts were estimated to be up to 5 feet deep.
Snowfall amounts across Dawson County ranged from 8.0 to 14.0 inches. The greatest amount of 14.0 inches was reported by the public, via Facebook, in Glendive as well as at 8 NNW Marsh. Times are estimated.
Intermittent blizzard conditions were reported from the morning of the 12th to midday on the 14th, at the Beach Airport AWOS.
Snowfall amounts across Sheridan County ranged from 4.0 to 6.0 inches. The greatest amount of 6.0 inches was reported by the public, via Facebook, at 5 W Antelope. Times are estimated.
Intermittent blizzard conditions were reported from the morning to the evening hours on the 13th, at the Sidney-Richland (KSDY) ASOS.
Intermittent blizzard conditions were reported from the morning to the early nighttime hours on the 13th, at the Big Sky Field Airport AWOS.
Intermittent blizzard conditions were reported from midday to the early nighttime hours on the 13th, at the Glendive Airport (KGDV) ASOS.
Intermittent blizzard conditions were reported from the afternoon of the 13th to the afternoon of the 14th, at the Sher-wood Airport (KPWD) AWOS.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Montana in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, April 2022
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: 1015454, 1015462, 1015475, 1015614, 1015615, 1017460, 1017461, 1017464, 1017465, 1017466, 1017467, 1017468, 1015464, 1017471, 1017470, 1017469, 1017472.