An unstable northwest flow aloft resulted in heavy snow to the foothills locations of the Bighorn Mountains.
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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 BYZ wrote it up.
An unstable northwest flow aloft resulted in heavy snow to the foothills locations of the Bighorn Mountains.
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 Feb 26, 3:48 PM MST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Billings MT
348 PM MST Mon Feb 26 2024
.UPDATE...
Cold front is moving into the southern foothills and winds from
Red Lodge to Sheridan are decreasing, so have cancelled the
remaining High Wind Warnings. Heads up, it's about to start
snowing at Billings. JKL
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Tonight through Tuesday Night...
Satellite imagery shows a trof moving thru the PacNW with plenty
of cold cloud tops (i.e. ascent) spreading from ID into MT/WY. A
110kt H3 jet is analyzed lifting thru central MT, placing us in a
region of RRQ divergence. A surface cold front has reached Judith
Gap, Harlowton and Livingston, all of which reported a quick onset
of snow. Areas further east are seeing W-NW winds as a result of
mixing but the strong cold advection will arrive soon. Pre-frontal
conditions warmed to the 50s to lower 60s. Sheridan has reached
62F. Winds along the western foothills have decreased w/ the front
so have cancelled wind highlights there. Will let the warning for
the southern foothills (Red Lodge, Fort Smith, Sheridan) ride a
bit longer, until the fropa.
The temperature at Judith Gap has fallen quickly to the lower 20s,
and further north it is already 10F at Cut Bank. The onset of snow
along with rapidly falling temps will result in quickly evolving
travel impacts over the next few hours, with roads icing over and
snow accumulation. Heads up for your evening commute!
A period of accumulating snow remains on track per the trof and
strong mid level frontogenesis. Precip amounts look to range from
0.10" or less in our northeast, to around a third of an inch at
Billings, and 0.50-0.75" along the southern upslope areas.
Temperature profiles will cool quickly enough that the dendritic
layer will lead to enhanced snowfall rates this evening...on the
order of 15:1 or maybe even 20:1 for a short time. All of this
said, we are looking at a 3-5" snowfall at Billings, 5-9" along
the southern foothills and up to a foot in the mountains. This is
a bit higher than previous forecast. Will make no changes to
existing winter highlights, but have added northern Rosebud and
Carter to the advisory.
Probability of 4+ inches of snow:
Billings: 45%
Red Lodge/Sheridan: 90%
Miles City/Baker: less than 10%
Probability of 8+ inches of snow:
Billings: less than 5%
Red Lodge/Sheridan: 40-50%
Beartooth/Absarokas: 75%
Heaviest snow will be in the late afternoon and evening, into the
overnight hours. We will see drying by late tonight and early
Tuesday, but there is another PV max on the back side of the trof,
which along with an axis of very cold air aloft (near -39C at
500mb) will produce snow showers across our west/south tomorrow
afternoon and early evening. Rising heights and a shift to
anticyclonic flow aloft arrive by Tuesday evening. Thus, tomorrow
night will be dry.
Rapid transition back to lee side troffing will allow winds along
the foothills to increase Tuesday night, with a good chance (90%)
of 50+ mph gusts at Livingston overnight. This will almost
certainly lead to impacts from blowing & drifting snow on I-90 and
US-191.
As for temperatures, we are looking at single digits to lower
teens tonight, then highs in the mid teens to mid 20s Tuesday
(coldest east). A quick shot of wintry temps before warm advection
returns aggressively Tuesday night.
JKL
Wednesday through Monday...
Wednesday will start out cold with many places in Southeastern
Montana such as Miles City and Baker seeing a chance (>85%) for
getting below 10 degrees. Most locations will be in the single
digits to low teens. Wednesday morning will be windy with a
gradient of around 13mb and 700mb winds near 50kts combining to
bring strong winds across the foothills. With fresh snowpack
expected to be on the ground, this could lead to blowing snow
concerns for Wednesday morning. Wednesday will remain windy with
most locations in the foothills seeing a >80% chance of seeing
wind gusts over 50mph. However, temperatures will warm quickly
Wednesday into the 40s limiting the blowing snow potential to the
morning hours before the snow crusts over. The pressure gradient
and strong upper level winds in place for Wednesday will remain
for Thursday though winds probably won't be quite as high.
Going into the weekend, our weather will remain active with a
upper level trough moving into our region. Friday will see this
trough bring in Pacific moisture that will lead to some snow over
the western high terrain and possibly foothills. By Saturday, a
low pressure system will form over Wyoming bringing the chance
(50-70%) for snow across the lower terrain. Over time the low
tracks farther to the east limiting any precipitation potential.
The track of the low will be very important with this system and
uncertainty remains high.
Temperatures will warm rapidly from Wednesday morning with places
west of Billings having a chance (50%) of getting over 60F by
Thursday. Friday remains warm before temperatures start to fall by
the weekend. By Sunday much of the region could see high
temperatures around freezing as the trough moves over the area and
we get cold air advection over the region. Torgerson
&&
.AVIATION...
Cold front moving thru the region this afternoon is producing a
wind shift to NW-N winds. This wind shift has reached KLVM-KBIL-
KMLS-KBHK by 20z and will get to KSHR and southeast MT by 23z.
Pre-frontal winds may gust to 40 knots at KRED & KSHR. Post-
frontal winds will gust 20-30 knots into the evening.
Expect widespread IFR-LIFR due to snow and local blowing snow late
this afternoon thru tonight. Flight conditions will improve
Tuesday but light snow showers may continue until evening,
especially near the foothills. Mountains will be obscured. JKL
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMP/POPS...
Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon
-----------------------------------------------------------
BIL 008/020 011/045 034/057 033/046 028/044 023/034 017/037
+2/S 10/B 00/N 26/R 56/O 76/S 32/S
LVM 010/027 017/043 032/051 035/043 026/040 018/032 013/033
+5/S 20/Q 01/N 68/O 67/S 75/S 21/B
HDN 005/020 007/046 028/060 030/051 026/048 020/035 013/037
+3/S 00/U 00/B 14/R 44/O 76/S 42/S
MLS 004/016 008/044 026/058 031/046 025/043 020/029 011/028
70/B 00/U 00/U 01/B 32/O 55/S 42/S
4BQ 007/017 006/045 025/060 033/055 028/055 024/035 014/033
+1/B 00/U 00/U 01/B 22/R 45/S 42/S
BHK 000/013 003/041 024/059 030/048 021/044 018/030 006/026
80/B 00/U 00/U 01/B 22/O 45/S 53/S
SHR 005/019 004/044 023/055 030/054 025/050 020/034 011/035
+5/S 20/U 00/B 02/R 43/O 67/S 42/S
&&
.BYZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MT...Winter Weather Advisory in effect until noon MST Tuesday FOR
ZONES
29>31-34-36-37-40-42-57-58-63>65-139-141-170-172-173-228-235.
Winter Storm Warning in effect until 5 PM MST Tuesday FOR
ZONES 56-66>68-138-169.
Winter Weather Advisory in effect until 5 PM MST Tuesday FOR
ZONE 171.
WY...Winter Storm Warning in effect until 5 PM MST Tuesday FOR
ZONE 199.
Winter Weather Advisory in effect until 5 PM MST Tuesday FOR
ZONE 198.
&&
weather.gov/billingsPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings, MT
114 PM MST Mon Feb 26 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1204 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 1 NW Burgess Junction 44.79N 107.54W
02/26/2024 M58.00 MPH Sheridan WY Mesonet
&&
LTPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings, MT
203 PM MST Mon Feb 26 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0842 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 S Burgess Junction 44.65N 107.50W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Sheridan WY Dept of Highways
0928 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 S Burgess Junction 44.65N 107.50W
02/26/2024 M56.00 MPH Sheridan WY Dept of Highways
0953 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 ENE Livingston 45.70N 110.45W
02/26/2024 M58.00 MPH Park MT ASOS
1000 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ESE Emigrant 45.35N 110.68W
02/26/2024 M52.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
1004 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 1 NW Burgess Junction 44.79N 107.54W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Sheridan WY Mesonet
1015 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ESE Emigrant 45.35N 110.68W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
1043 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 ENE Livingston 45.70N 110.45W
02/26/2024 M58.00 MPH Park MT ASOS
1045 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ESE Emigrant 45.35N 110.68W
02/26/2024 M56.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
1053 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 ENE Livingston 45.70N 110.45W
02/26/2024 M55.00 MPH Park MT ASOS
1100 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ESE Emigrant 45.35N 110.68W
02/26/2024 M54.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
1104 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 S Burgess Junction 44.65N 107.50W
02/26/2024 M56.00 MPH Sheridan WY Dept of Highways
1115 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ENE Livingston 45.69N 110.50W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Park MT Dept of Highways
1130 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 ESE Emigrant 45.35N 110.68W
02/26/2024 M53.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
1137 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 ENE Livingston 45.70N 110.45W
02/26/2024 M61.00 MPH Park MT ASOS
1140 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 8 S Burgess Junction 44.65N 107.50W
02/26/2024 M53.00 MPH Sheridan WY Dept of Highways
1153 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 ENE Livingston 45.70N 110.45W
02/26/2024 M59.00 MPH Park MT ASOS
1200 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 WSW Livingston 45.65N 110.60W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Park MT Dept of Highways
1203 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 6 ENE Livingston 45.70N 110.45W
02/26/2024 M59.00 MPH Park MT ASOS
0104 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 1 NW Burgess Junction 44.79N 107.54W
02/26/2024 M64.00 MPH Sheridan WY Mesonet
&&
TSPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings, MT
523 PM MST Mon Feb 26 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0112 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 17 NE Wilsall 46.16N 110.38W
02/26/2024 M71.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
0129 PM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 22 E Warren 45.10N 108.22W
02/26/2024 M53.00 MPH Carbon MT Mesonet
0400 PM Snow 18 SW Fishtail 45.24N 109.73W
02/26/2024 M2.0 inch Stillwater MT Co-Op Observer
&&
TSPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Billings, MT
540 PM MST Mon Feb 26 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0145 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 4 W Harlowton 46.45N 109.94W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Wheatland MT Mesonet
0255 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 2 ENE Harlowton 46.45N 109.80W
02/26/2024 M53.00 MPH Wheatland MT Mesonet
0515 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 3 WNW Gardiner 45.05N 110.75W
02/26/2024 M51.00 MPH Park MT Mesonet
1015 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 5 N Rapleje 46.04N 109.24W
02/26/2024 M57.00 MPH Stillwater MT Mesonet
1045 AM Non-Tstm Wnd Gst 9 NE Reed Point 45.80N 109.43W
02/26/2024 M50.00 MPH Stillwater MT Mesonet
&&
TSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall amounts of 7 to 10 inches occurred across the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wyoming in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Wyoming, February 2024
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: 1158076.