Montana, 2022

Heavy Snow in Montana, May 29 to 31, 2022

May 29 to 31, 2022 · NWS BYZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An upper low that moved across Wyoming brought a late Spring heavy snow to the mountains of south central Montana.

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

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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 BYZ wrote it up.

An upper low that moved across Wyoming brought a late Spring heavy snow to the mountains of south central Montana.

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 Billings, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 29, 1:29 AM MST, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 29, 1:29 AM MST, 2 hours 31 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 29, 1:42 AM MST, 2 hours 18 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 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains

When
May 29, 4:00 AM MST to May 31, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Absaroka / Beartooth Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
45.550, -109.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts of 13 to 15 inches were reported from Nye to Mystic Lake.

Heavy Snow, Pryor/Northern Bighorn Mountains

When
May 30, 12:00 AM MST to May 31, 7:00 AM MST
Where
Pryor/Northern Bighorn Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
45.326, -108.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow occurred. Observations based off Northeast Bighorn Mountains. U.S. 14 was closed west of Burgess Junction.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Montana, May 2022

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: 1024058, 1024053.